Makes feeble excuses when free on board drinks ultimately abandoned (4,3)
I believe the answer is:
fobs off
'makes feeble excuses when free' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'on board drinks ultimately abandoned' is the wordplay.
'on' says to put letters next to each other.
'board drinks ultimately' becomes 'fobs' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'abandoned' becomes 'off' (I've seen this in other clues).
'fobs' put next to 'off' is 'FOBS OFF'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for fobs off that I've seen is " Gets rid of".)