Late exercises stopping at one (2,5)
I believe the answer is:
at peace
'late' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'exercises stopping at one' is the wordplay.
'exercises' becomes 'pe' (Physical Education class).
'stopping' indicates putting letters inside (stopping can mean blocking a gap).
'one' becomes 'ace' (ace has a value of one in some card games).
'at'+'ace'='atace'
'pe' inserted within 'atace' is 'AT PEACE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for at peace that I've seen before include "pushing up the daisies" , "Resting serenely" , "Not disputing" , "In a state of serenity" , "Dead?" .)