Absolute rascal staying within legal limits (8)
I believe the answer is:
implicit
'absolute' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'rascal staying within legal limits' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'rascal' could be 'imp' (synonyms) and 'imp' is found in the answer.
'legal' could be 'licit' (similar in meaning) and 'licit' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for implicit that I've seen before include "Assumed, not spelled out" , "Suggested but not stated" , "Inherent but not made clear" , "Implicit" , "Understood, tacit" .)