Hardly bringing ton back (3)
I believe the answer is:
not
'hardly' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'ton back' is the wordplay.
'back' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'ton' back-to-front is 'NOT'.
'bringing' is the link.
(Other definitions for not that I've seen before include "Type of logic gate" , "Ton (anag.)" , "Negation of what follows" , "In no way, never" , "logically, operation needed" .)