A few short weeks with mother Riley, initially? (3)
I believe the answer is:
mar
'a few short weeks with mother riley initially?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'with mother riley initially?' is the wordplay.
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'mother' becomes 'ma' (Ma is another word for mother or mum).
'initially?' suggests taking the first letters (I've seen 'initially' mean this).
The first letter of 'riley' is 'r'.
'ma' put next to 'r' is 'MAR'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mar that I've seen before include "Make imperfect" , "Disfigure" , "A windy month" , "Detract from" , "when spring growth starts?" .)