Father about to get cut off (4)
I believe the answer is:
pare
'cut off' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'father about' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa is a kind of father).
'about' becomes 're' (regarding).
'pa'+'re'='PARE'
'to get' is the link.
(Other definitions for pare that I've seen before include "Trim by slicing" , "Shave, say, pencil" , "Decrease gradually" , "Strip the skin from" , "Whittle" .)