Hanger-on in class doomed, for failing to grasp minimum of workings (5,2,8)
I believe the answer is:
sword of damocles
'hanger-on' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'class doomed for failing to grasp minimum of workings' is the wordplay.
'failing' indicates an anagram.
'to grasp' is an insertion indicator.
'minimum of' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letter of 'workings' is 'w'.
'class'+'doomed'+'for'='classdoomedfor'
'classdoomedfor' is an anagram of 'sordofdamocles'.
'sordofdamocles' going around 'w' is 'SWORD OF DAMOCLES'.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sword of damocles that I've seen before include "Impending threat" , "Imminently impending peril, disaster" , "precarious situation" , "imminent threat" , "It was perilously poised overhead" .)