Isn't trained soldier, say, prepared in advance? (7)
I believe the answer is:
instant
'prepared in advance?' is the definition.
'instant' can be an answer for 'prepared' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'in advance?' bit.
'isn't trained soldier' is the wordplay.
'trained' is an anagram indicator (to train can mean to grow something into a shape).
'soldier' becomes 'ant' (soldier ant is a type of ant).
'isnt' with letters rearranged gives 'inst'.
'inst'+'ant'='INSTANT'
'say' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for instant that I've seen before include "Immediate; moment in time" , "Twinkling of a eye" , "Brief moment" , "Immediate, twinkling" , "Split second" .)