Dickens swallows old English drink (5)
I believe the answer is:
booze
'drink' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'dickens swallows old english' is the wordplay.
'dickens' becomes 'boz' (pseudonym of Charles Dickens in 'Sketches by Boz').
'swallows' indicates putting letters inside.
'old' becomes 'o' (abbreviation).
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'boz' going around 'o' is 'booz'.
'booz'+'e'='BOOZE'
(Other definitions for booze that I've seen before include "Drink alcohol" , "Alcohol (sl.)" , "In slang, alcoholic drink" , "plonk?" , "Drink too much (colloq.)" .)