Turned chicken when the king is under threat (2,5)
I believe the answer is:
in check
'the king is under threat' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'turned chicken' is the wordplay.
'turned' indicates anagramming the letters.
'chicken' with letters rearranged gives 'IN CHECK'.
'when' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for in check that I've seen before include "Under control" , "Attacked" , "Restrained" , "State of chess king under direct attack" .)