Falling asleep, note, unusual in Government (7)
I believe the answer is:
nodding
'falling' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'asleep note unusual in government' is the wordplay.
'asleep note' becomes 'n' (abbreviation. I am not sure about the 'asleep' bit.).
'unusual' becomes 'odd' (similar in meaning).
'government' becomes 'g' (abbreviation for government).
'n'+'odd'+'in'+'g'='NODDING'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nodding that I've seen before include "Signing agreement" , "being agreeable?" , "Not showing much interest in" , "Dozing (off)" , "Like casual acquaintances" .)