Brief attempt about right (5)
I believe the answer is:
short
'brief' is the definition.
('short' can be a synonym of 'brief')
'attempt about right' is the wordplay.
'attempt' becomes 'shot' (I've seen this before).
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'right' becomes 'r' (common abbreviation).
'shot' placed around 'r' is 'SHORT'.
(Other definitions for short that I've seen before include "Wanting" , "Literary genre such as those by ..." , "Terse; in insufficient supply" , "Curt" , "Not long enough" .)