A tome then awfully shabby (4-5)
I believe the answer is:
moth-eaten
'shabby' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a tome then awfully' is the wordplay.
'awfully' indicates anagramming the letters.
'a'+'tome'+'then'='atomethen'
'atomethen' is an anagram of 'MOTH-EATEN'.
(Other definitions for moth-eaten that I've seen before include "Showing severe signs of wear and tear" , "Shabby" , "Threadbare" , "Old and worn" , "Old, in bad condition" .)