Shame to have husband caught short (5)
I believe the answer is:
pithy
'short' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'shame to have husband' is the wordplay.
'shame' becomes 'pity' (synonyms).
'to have' indicates putting letters inside.
'husband' becomes 'h' (abbreviation).
'pity' enclosing 'h' is 'PITHY'.
'caught' is the link.
This may not be correct. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pithy that I've seen before include "Terse, powerful (speech)" , "Short and to the point" , "Concise and full of meaning" , "Succinct" , "Terse and vigorously expressive" .)