After dram, note phone moving irregularly (9)

I believe the answer is:

tottering

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'moving irregularly' is the definition.

'after dram note phone' is the wordplay.
'after dram' becomes 'tot' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'after' bit.**).
'note' becomes 'te'.
'phone' becomes 'ring' ('ring' can be a synonym of 'phone').
'tot'+'te'+'ring'='TOTTERING'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tottering that I've seen before include "Wobbly" , "making unsteady progress" , "Moving unsteadily" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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