Beer right after wine, when one’s ready for anything? (3,5)
I believe the answer is:
red alert
'when one's ready for anything?' is the definition.
(emergency situation)
'beer right after wine' is the wordplay.
'beer' becomes 'ale' (type of beer).
'right' becomes 'rt' (abbreviation as in Rt Hon- the Right Honourable).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'wine' becomes 'red' (red is a type of wine).
'ale'+'rt'='alert'
'alert' put after 'red' is 'RED ALERT'.
(Other definitions for red alert that I've seen before include "State of readiness for imminent threat" , "Danger sign" , "Scarlet warning of imminent danger?" , "Urgent warning" , "Serious warning" .)