Understood the devil came to a lawful end (8)
I believe the answer is:
implicit
'understood' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'devil came to a lawful end' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'devil' could be 'imp' (devilish creature) and 'imp' is located in the answer.
'lawful' could be 'licit' (synonyms) and 'licit' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for implicit that I've seen before include "Understood but not openly stated" , "Unspoken" , "Suggested though not directly expressed" , "Not actually stated" , "Assumed, not spelled out" .)