Crossword Genius

In the evening, drop of plonk (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

set

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'drop of plonk' is the definition.
'set' can be an answer for 'drop' (thesaurus). I am unsure of the 'of plonk' bit.

'in the evening' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'se' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for set that I've seen before include "Gel; group" , "carriage" , "Customary < scenery < a TV < series" , "several games" , "Hard; place" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.