Crossword Genius

Ring and, in turmoil, split about the weapon (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pistol

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'the weapon' is the definition.
(pistol is a kind of weapon)

'ring and in turmoil split' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'ring' could be 'o' and 'o' is found in the answer.
an anagram of 'split' is 'pistl' which is present in the remaining letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'about' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pistol that I've seen before include "Hand-held firearm" , "Small firearm" , "A small hand-gun" , "potential killer?" , "Hand weapon" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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