Cords of mangled prose (5)
I believe the answer is:
ropes
'cords' is the definition.
(rope is a kind of cord)
'mangled prose' is the wordplay.
'mangled' indicates anagramming the letters.
'prose' anagrammed gives 'ROPES'.
'of' is the link.
(Other definitions for ropes that I've seen before include "known to be adept?" , "Painters" , "Lashings" , "Onion or pearl strings" , "Guys" .)