Irritable character in Wind in the Willows (5)
I believe the answer is:
ratty
'irritable' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'character in wind in the willows' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'character' could be 'rat' (I have seen 'Unpleasant character' mean 'rat' so perhaps 'character' could also mean 'rat') and 'rat' is located in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
A single letter 'y' remains 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 ratty that I've seen before include "Bad-tempered, irritable as a rodent" , "Irritable (colloq.)" , "Fictional mole's chum" , "Short" , "his friend being a dangerous driver" .)