Level path beyond first of pot-holes (5)
I believe the answer is:
plane
'level' is the definition.
(plane is a kind of level)
'path beyond first of pot-holes' is the wordplay.
'path' becomes 'lane' (lane is a kind of path).
'beyond' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'first of pot holes' becomes 'p' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'lane' after 'p' is 'PLANE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for plane that I've seen before include "Aircraft - level surface - carpenter's tool" , "barked?" , "Form of transport" , "This flier" , "Tool for smoothing wood" .)