Old tales reworked (5)
I believe the answer is:
stale
'old' is the definition.
(associated in meaning)
'tales reworked' is the wordplay.
'reworked' indicates anagramming the letters.
'tales' with letters rearranged gives 'STALE'.
(Other definitions for stale that I've seen before include "no longer bearing interest?" , "Mouldy or hackneyed" , "past the sell-by date" , "Least (anag.)" , "Boring" .)