Rode rough circuit when laying down the law (8)
I believe the answer is:
ordering
'laying down the law' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'rode rough circuit' is the wordplay.
'rough' indicates anagramming the letters (a rough or broken ordering of the letters).
'circuit' becomes 'ring' (I've seen this in other clues).
'rode' is an anagram of 'orde'.
'orde'+'ring'='ORDERING'
'when' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ordering that I've seen before include "Instructing" , "procurement" , "Issuing instructions" , "Issuing commands" , "Giving an instruction" .)