Collapse following fine cut (4)
I believe the answer is:
flop
'collapse' is the definition.
('flop' can be a synonym of 'collapse')
'following fine cut' is the wordplay.
'following' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'fine' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'cut' becomes 'lop' (lopping is a kind of cutting**).
'f' put next to 'lop' is 'FLOP'.
(Other definitions for flop that I've seen before include "crash" , "Utter failure" , "Collapse loosely - total failure" , "Total failure; fall heavily" , "Fiasco" .)