Tough lay there quivering (8)
I believe the answer is:
leathery
'tough' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'lay there quivering' is the wordplay.
'quivering' indicates an anagram (letters shake or quiver into a new order).
'lay'+'there'='laythere'
'laythere' is an anagram of 'LEATHERY'.
(Other definitions for leathery that I've seen before include "Like a football" , "(Of skin) having a tough and hard texture" , "like old boots?" , "Tough textured" , "Tough like tanned hide" .)