Awful poser in cords (5)
I believe the answer is:
ropes
'cords' is the definition.
(rope is a kind of cord)
'awful poser' is the wordplay.
'awful' indicates an anagram.
'poser' is an anagram of 'ROPES'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for ropes that I've seen before include "lines" , "Stays" , "Lashings" , "Painters" , "weaker people may be on them?" .)