In giving a garbled version of, is cheating (8)
I believe the answer is:
twisting
'cheating' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'in giving a garbled version of is' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'in' is present in the answer.
'is' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for twisting that I've seen before include "Distorting; coiling" , "Crooked" , "Bending, contorting" , "Winding (together); distorting" , "Full of bends" .)