No saint, unscrupulous individual is filled with constant agitation (9)
I believe the answer is:
hysterics
'agitation' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both states of affairs as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'no saint unscrupulous individual is filled with constant' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'saint' could be 'st' (abbreviation) and 'st' is present in the answer.
'individual' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one, ie individual) and 'i' is located in the answer.
'constant' could be 'e' (mathematics: 2.71) and 'e' 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 hysterics that I've seen before include "Wild laughter" , "Uncontrollable laughter" , "Wildly emotional behaviour" , "great glee" , "Uncontrolled emotions or outbursts" .)