Cold, maybe, but it starts warm (3)
I believe the answer is:
war
'cold maybe' is the definition.
(a cold war is a type of war)
'starts warm' is the wordplay.
'starts' means to remove the last letter.
'warm' with its final letter taken off is 'WAR'.
'but it' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for war that I've seen before include "Major conflict" , "Large-scale conflict" , "Hostile situation" , "Fight" , "Period of hostilities" .)