Short cheerful pleasure trip (5)
I believe the answer is:
jaunt
'pleasure trip' is the definition.
('jaunt' can be a synonym of 'pleasure trip')
'short cheerful' is the wordplay.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'cheerful' becomes 'jaunty' ('jaunty' can be similar in meaning to 'cheerful').
'jaunty' with its last letter taken off is 'JAUNT'.
(Other definitions for jaunt that I've seen before include "Pleasure journey" , "Pleasurable trip" , "Pleasure trip" , "Outing" , "Ramble - excursion" .)