Visual Description: German engineering?
METOP = TEMPO, SITOH = HOIST, ODSWIM = WISDOM, NUNESK = SUNKEN — Giving us: TEOOISOMNN
Clue/Question: When she asked when the clock would be repaired, he said – – –
Answer: NO TIME SOON
(Cuckoo clocks are such fun little novelties. They periodically entertain you, as they tell you the time. And, they’re generally quite ornate. They are well-engineered, useful works of art. For some – like my Mom – they’re a little too kitschy, and they don’t always fit in with the rest of the decor, but like I said, they’re fun!
All of today’s clue words are present members of the ralis95 clue word database. Which means they’ve been used in past Jumbles. And, no doubt they’ll be used in future ones as well. Three of the jumbles are coming up as new, for me. But we’ve undeniably seen “sitoh” in previous Jumbles. The clue word “tempo” fits right in with today’s theme. And, the answer letter layout was a tense ten letter jumble. Beautifully cryptic. Initially, I was thinking ON something TIME, but that didn’t work out. That did leave me letters for SOON, but it wasn’t until I wrote out the vowels and consonants, separately, in alpha order, that I figured it all out. Hey, it is what it is!
Cute cartoon of the horologist – clockmaker – in his shop, telling his customer that she’s going to have a long wait. Artisans like this are fairly rare in the Americas. My Dad was a tool and die maker, and he was always in demand, as there are fewer of them in the U.S. these days, while most of them seem to be in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. So many machines – like most older clocks – need custom made parts. They don’t come cheap, but it’s more costly to replace the existing machines. Be well and do good, friends.) — YUR
Images courtesy of Google
Unclerave's Wordy Weblog 
The letter sequence of the third word made me think ODD SWIM, and that made me chuckle, UR. And, like you, I started the answer with TIME … it was inevitable!
LOL! — YUR