Oriental monarch is being economical (5)

I believe the answer is:

eking

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'is being economical' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'oriental monarch' is the wordplay.
'oriental' becomes 'e' ().
'monarch' becomes 'king' (king is a kind of monarch).
'e'+'king'='EKING'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for eking that I've seen before include "With difficulty, making" , "spinning?" , "eg Kin (anag.)" , "Managing to make (a living)" , "making up the required amount" .)

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

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