The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word TIPSY
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
T
I
P
S
Y
More clues leading to the result TIPSY
- Happy suggestions at end of day
- “S’pity”, slurred under the influence!
- Useful bits of advice given to unknown drunk
- Untidy place steadily emptying is affected by drink
- Unstable coastal tract upset journey’s end
- Ends with last of the whisky, somewhat drunk
- Drunk shoots Yankee
- Advice, say, to ignore a drunk
- Drunk to advise heartless sentry
- Well-oiled artillery's final discharge backfiring
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "affected by drink" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case affected by drink = tipsy.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does TIPSY mean?
TIPSY adjective- Slightly drunk, fuddled, staggering, foolish as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages
- (metonymy) unsteady, askew