A little drink will get me up the pole! (5)
I believe the answer is:
totem
'pole' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a little drink will get me up' is the wordplay.
'a little drink' becomes 'tot' (tot can mean a small drink of alcohol).
'will get' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'me' written backwards gives 'em'.
'tot'+'em'='TOTEM'
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for totem that I've seen before include "(Tribal) emblem" , "Spiritually significant item" , "Object of veneration" , "Natural object carved on poles by North American Indians" , "Tribal symbol (maybe on pole)" .)