Ratify ale when drunk? A likely story (5,4)
I believe the answer is:
fairy tale
'a likely story' is the definition.
'fairy tale' can be an answer for 'story' (thesaurus). I am not certain of the 'a likely' bit.
'ratify ale when drunk?' is the wordplay.
'when drunk?' is an anagram indicator (a drunken or disorderly form of the letters).
'ratify'+'ale'='ratifyale'
'ratifyale' with letters rearranged gives 'FAIRY TALE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for fairy tale that I've seen before include "'Once upon a time...'" , "Children's magic tale or incredible story for adult" , "A magical story for children" , "Children's story with magical beings" , "''... of New York'' (The Pogues)" .)