Kitty played oboe terribly at first (3)
I believe the answer is:
pot
'kitty' is the definition.
(both can mean a shared fund)
'played oboe terribly at first' is the wordplay.
'at first' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letters of 'played oboe terribly' is 'POT'.
(Other definitions for pot that I've seen before include "Jar, cannabis" , "Cannabis - container - beer belly" , "Bowl" , "prize" , "Trophy; kitty" .)