Score heroin after revealing a long list of others, in short (4)
I believe the answer is:
etch
'score' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for etch that I've seen before include "What most engravers presumably find easy to do" , "Carve or engrave into surface" , "Cut using sharp instrument" , "Make picture by engraving metal" , "Make deep lines" .)