Caught short and this may be beaten (5,4)
I believe the answer is:
snare drum
'this may be beaten' is the definition.
'caught short' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'snared' (snaring is a kind of catching).
'short' becomes 'rum' (short can mean an alcoholic drink).
'snared'+'rum'='SNARE-DRUM'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for snare drum that I've seen before include "item in kitchen?" , "nine [RUFF] could come from this" , "One may produce a rattling sound" , "one's beaten" , "one that gets beaten!" .)