Broke the skin with a tin opener (5)
I believe the answer is:
skint
'broke' is the definition.
(both can mean struggling financially)
'skin with a tin opener' is the wordplay.
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'opener' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'tin' is 't'.
'skin'+'t'='SKINT'
'the' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for skint that I've seen before include "Broke (sl.)" , "Stony broke" , "Broke (slang)" , "Without money (slang)" , "Impecunious" .)