Being cute, we replace the centre part in time (4)
I believe the answer is:
twee
'being cute' is the definition.
(twee can mean cute or pretty)
'we replace the centre part in time' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'we' is present in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'e' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for twee that I've seen before include "Sentimental, quaint" , "Overly precious" , "Precious - sentimental" , "Over-pretty, sentimental" , "Niminy-piminy" .)