Tons laid out like the river Severn, for example (5)
I believe the answer is:
tidal
'like the river severn for example' is the definition.
'tons laid out' is the wordplay.
'tons' becomes 't' (**).
'out' is an anagram indicator (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'laid' anagrammed gives 'idal'.
't'+'idal'='TIDAL'
(Other definitions for tidal that I've seen before include "What a bore may be" , "Of sea, rising and falling" , "going with the flow" , "__ wave; tsunami" , "Of ebbs and flows" .)