Without resin and ruler (7)
I believe the answer is:
lacking
'without' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'resin and ruler' is the wordplay.
'resin' becomes 'lac' (resin secreted by lac insects).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'ruler' becomes 'king' (king is a kind of ruler).
'lac'+'king'='LACKING'
(Other definitions for lacking that I've seen before include "Short" , "Deficient or inadequate" , "Absent, deficient" , "Being without, wanting" , "'Deficient, wanting (7)'" .)