Mislay a ring inside, not tightly fastened (5)

I believe the answer is:

loose

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'tightly fastened' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives can occasionally define each other.

'mislay a ring inside not' is the wordplay.
'mislay' becomes 'lose' (synonyms).
'a ring' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'inside' says to take the centre.
The middle letter of 'not' is 'o'.
'lose' going around 'o' is 'LOOSE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for loose that I've seen before include "Relaxed; set free" , "Unattached" , "untidy" , "wobbly" , "Not tied up or attached" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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