Customs finally put foot down when character smuggled in object on domestic flight? (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
stair rod
'customs finally put foot down' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'character smuggled in object on domestic flight?' is the wordplay.
'character' becomes 's'.
'smuggled in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'object on domestic' becomes 'trod' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'flight?' becomes 'air' (flight is a kind of air).
'trod' going around 'air' is 'tairrod'.
's'+'tairrod'='STAIR-ROD'
'when' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stair rod that I've seen before include "it might pour this" , "Securer for carpet" , "seeming to come down in heavy rain" , "Fixture between riser and treader" , "As torrid (anag.)" .)