Maybe leaves side a little short? (3)
I believe the answer is:
tea
'maybe leaves' is the definition.
'tea' can be an answer for 'leaves' (as in tea leaves). I am unsure of the 'maybe' bit.
'side a little short?' is the wordplay.
'side' becomes 'team' (a side is a sporting team).
'a little short?' means to remove the last letter (I've seen 'a little short' mean this).
'team' with its last letter taken off is 'TEA'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tea that I've seen before include "Light afternoon repast" , "Afternoon or evening meal" , "Hot beverage" , "For Japanese ceremony" , "Plantation product" .)