Dreary pet on the counter cracked claret bottles (10)
I believe the answer is:
lacklustre
'dreary' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'pet on the counter cracked claret bottles' is the wordplay.
'pet on' becomes 'sulk' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'on' bit.).
'the counter' says the letters should be written backwards (counter can mean in the opposite direction).
'cracked' indicates an anagram.
'bottles' is an insertion indicator (bottle can mean to contain).
'sulk' reversed gives 'klus'.
'claret' with letters rearranged gives 'lactre'.
'klus' placed within 'lactre' is 'LACKLUSTRE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lacklustre that I've seen before include "Prosaic" , "Without vitality" , "Dull; boring" , "Unimaginative" , "Drab" .)