Country where wife-swapping is rife? It's the way things stand (5,2,7)

'country' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how one could define the other.

'wife-swapping is rife? it's the way things stand' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'way' could be 's' (Compass direction - South) and 's' is found within the answer.
'things' could be 'affairs' ('affair' can be a synonym of 'thing') and 'affairs' is located in the answer.
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'where' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?