Honey, no tipple before a play (9)
I believe the answer is:
melodrama
'play' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'honey no tipple before a' is the wordplay.
'honey' becomes 'mel' (Latin name for honey).
'no' becomes 'O' (O resembles 0).
'tipple before' becomes 'dram' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'mel'+'o'+'dram'+'a'='MELODRAMA'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for melodrama that I've seen before include "Play of extravagant action" , "Exceptionally sensational play" , "Sensational stage piece" , "emotive stuff" , "hysterical behaviour" .)