Working out in time what it means ruling state (8)
I believe the answer is:
training
'working out' is the definition.
(training is a kind of working out)
'in time what it means ruling state' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'in' is present in the answer.
'time' could be 't' (abbreviation) and 't' is found within the answer.
'ruling' could be 'in' (the ruling party is voted 'in') and 'in' is found within the answer.
'means' could be 'rag' (rag is a kind of means) and 'rag' is located in the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for training that I've seen before include "in practice" , "drill" , "Disciplined preparation" , "Aiming" , "Process of instruction" .)