Scarpered when exhausted working (3,3,2)
I believe the answer is:
ran out on
'working' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.
'scarpered when exhausted' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'scarpered' could be 'ran' ('run' can be a synonym of 'scarper') and 'ran' is found within the answer.
'when' could be 'on' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'on' is present in the answer.
'exhausted' could be 'out' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'out' is found in the answer.
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?