An abstainer cut with stiletto when driving (2,3,5)
I believe the answer is:
at the wheel
'driving' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'an abstainer cut with stiletto' is the wordplay.
'an' becomes 'a'.
'abstainer' becomes 'tt' (I've seen this in other clues).
'cut' becomes 'hew' (I've seen this before**).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'stiletto' becomes 'heel'.
'a'+'tt'+'hew'+'heel'='AT THE WHEEL'
'when' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for at the wheel that I've seen before include "Driving a vehicle" , "in a car" .)