The phrase "a first hint" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when introducing an initial clue or indication about something, often in a context of discovery or investigation.
Example: "The detective found a first hint that led him to the suspect's whereabouts."
Alternatives: "an initial clue" or "a preliminary indication."
A first hint came today that India might relax its alert status along the border.
The comments are a first hint that the Bank could hold fire on rate rises until after the referendum.
A neo-Renaissance-style sandstone structure, it sprawls and swirls across an entire city block, offering a first hint of Hamburg's longstanding vanity and ambition.
Second, in May and June, the Labor Department reported a rise in the number of temporary workers -- often a first hint of a rebound.
Many believe that Mr Wilders will call the shots even if his party is excluded from the cabinet.The local elections on March 3rd will give a first hint of the parties' strengths.
Our unheroic hero is Germain (Fabrice Luchini), who teaches literature at the Lycée Gustave Flaubert — a first hint that the application of style, at whatever cost, will lurk at the movie's heart.
The staff of Bidoup Nui Ba National Park picked us up from our hotel in Da Lat in a large Russian military S.U.V. — a first hint of the rough road ahead.
After justifying that promotion and offering a first hint of his ability with 41 from 57 balls, he launched Tim Bresnan towards the square-leg boundary – where Root was appropriately placed to take a good diving catch.
There was a first hint when Hudgell nipped in to sign Paul Cooke, who had scored FC's match-winning try in Cardiff, without paying a transfer fee, having spotted irregularities in his contract.
However, their shock Challenge Cup defeat by Leeds was a first hint of how the elder Paul will be missed in the big matches, despite the arrival of the huge Kiwi wing Lesley Vainikolo.
But Huddersfield offered a first hint of their steel by withstanding more concerted pressure to deny Wigan a third, and then emerged as an attacking force following the introduction of Eorl Crabtree and Shaun Lunt from the bench midway through the first half.
