Was a trainee being denied an opening merited? (6)
I believe the answer is:
earned
'merited?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'was a trainee being denied an opening' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'being' could be 'rn' (RN is an example) and 'rn' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'eed' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for earned that I've seen before include "Worked for and gained" , "Received as a salary, right etc." , "Gained by labour" , "made money" , "Gained by working" .)