Large one, coat mother abandoned -- take off coach (4,4,5)
I believe the answer is:
lick into shape
'coach' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't tell whether this works.
'large one coat mother abandoned take off' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'large' could be 'os' (abbreviation for oversize) and 'os' is found in the answer.
'one' could be 'i' (Roman numeral) and 'i' is found within the answer.
'take off' could be 'ape' (both can mean to imitate) and 'ape' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lick into shape that I've seen before include "Put into a satisfactory form" , "fashion" , "Make presentable" , "Train into proper condition" , "Act forcefully to improve (something)" .)