It's typically hard when there's only bad meat left (5)
I believe the answer is:
metal
'it's typically hard when there's only' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'bad meat left' is the wordplay.
'bad' indicates an anagram.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'meat' is an anagram of 'meta'.
'meta'+'l'='METAL'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for metal that I've seen before include "Aluminium or copper for instance" , "Lead, say" , "Iron, gold or silver, for example" , "Material detectable in the ground" , "barium?" .)