Tire out Pole labouring and abruptly slowing down (8)
I believe the answer is:
ritenuto
'abruptly slowing down' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'tire out pole labouring' is the wordplay.
'tire' becomes 'rite' (I have seen 'Tire of ceremony ' mean 'rite' so perhaps 'tire' could also mean 'rite').
'pole' becomes 'n' (abbreviation for North, as in North Pole).
'labouring' indicates anagramming the letters (letters worked or laboured into a new form).
'out'+'n'='outn'
'outn' with letters rearranged gives 'nuto'.
'rite'+'nuto'='RITENUTO'
'and' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ritenuto that I've seen before include "slowing immediately" , "Immediately reducing in speed (music)" , "coming to a sudden slowdown" .)