Tardy ordering tale (4)
I believe the answer is:
late
'tardy' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'ordering tale' is the wordplay.
'ordering' indicates an anagram.
'tale' is an anagram of 'LATE'.
(Other definitions for late that I've seen before include "No longer alive; tardy" , "Dead or behind time" , "Behindhand" , "Having bought it" , "Unpunctual or dead (4)" .)