Slate business degree cutting that worked (8)
I believe the answer is:
lambaste
'slate business degree cutting that worked' is the definition.
'lambaste' can be an answer for 'slate' (thesaurus). I am unsure of the rest of the definition.
'slate business degree' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'business' could be 'm' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'm' is present in the answer.
'degree' could be 'ba' (Bachelor of Arts) and 'ba' is found within the answer.
an anagram of 'slate' is 'laste' which is within the left over letters.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
(Other definitions for lambaste that I've seen before include "carpet" , "Harshly criticise" , "Roast" , "Batter - male bats (anag)" , "Beat -- reprimand severely" .)