Give instruction to old crooner nearby (9)
I believe the answer is:
bordering
'nearby' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'give instruction to old crooner' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'instruction' could be 'order' (an order to do something) and 'order' is found in the answer.
'crooner' could be 'bing' (Bing Crosby) and 'bing' is found within the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for bordering that I've seen is " On the verge or boundary of".)