Studying figures of miners, nearly all allocated place round track (6,6)
I believe the answer is:
number theory
'studying' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'figures of miners nearly all allocated place round track' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is found in the answer.
'miners' could be 'num' (National Union of Mineworkers) and 'num' is found within the answer.
'place' could be 'berth' (synonyms) and 'berth' is located in the answer.
'track' could be 'ry' (abbreviation for railway) and 'ry' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for number theory that I've seen before include "Study of integers and their properties" , "Mathematical discipline" .)