Did an abrasive job (in the Cabinet?) (5)
I believe the answer is:
filed
'job in the cabinet?' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives can occasionally mean the same thing.
'did an abrasive' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'did' could be 'led' (leading is a kind of doing) and 'led' is found within the answer.
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'f' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for filed that I've seen before include "Worked with a tool" , "Put away in a container for records" , "arranged in a particular way" , "Placed in folder" , "Noted" .)