Formal `iabout turn^i in a flawed trial (6)
I believe the answer is:
ritual
'formal' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'turni in a flawed trial' is the wordplay.
'turni' becomes 'u' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'a flawed' indicates an anagram (I've seen this in other clues).
'trial' with letters rearranged gives 'rital'.
'u' put inside 'rital' is 'RITUAL'.
''iabout' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ritual that I've seen before include "Ceremony, solemn procedure" , "Ceremony following a prescribed order" , "Customary (eg religious) practice" , "Habit, routine" , "Stereotyped behaviour" .)