Better time with ale or a rum (10)
I believe the answer is:
ameliorate
'better' is the definition.
('ameliorate' can be a synonym of 'better')
'time with ale or a rum' is the wordplay.
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'rum' indicates anagramming the letters (rum can mean strange or unusual).
'ale'+'or'+'a'='aleora'
'time' after 'aleora' is 'aleoratime'.
'aleoratime' anagrammed gives 'AMELIORATE'.
(Other definitions for ameliorate that I've seen before include "Make (a bad thing) better" , "seen to improve" , "Become better" , "Make (something) better" .)