Reference work that's turned up, figuratively speaking (6)
I believe the answer is:
poetic
'reference work that's turned up figuratively speaking' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'reference work that's turned up' is the wordplay.
'reference' becomes 'cite' (to cite is to mention or quote).
'work' becomes 'op' (abbreviation for opus).
'that's turned up' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, letters go up).
'cite'+'op'='citeop'
'citeop' in reverse letter order is 'POETIC'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for poetic that I've seen before include "Flowery" , "lines?" , "Characterised by romantic imagery" , "Lyrical like verse" , "Clearly expressed in speech/writing" .)