Abandoned in an attic without water? (4,3,3)
I believe the answer is:
high and dry
'abandoned' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'an attic without water?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found in the answer.
'without water?' could be 'dry' and 'dry' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for high and dry that I've seen before include "Without resources" , "like Noah on Ararat?" , "Stranded, helpless" .)