Short crack on stern of cruise ship (3-5)
I believe the answer is:
one-liner
'short crack' is the definition.
'one liner' can be an answer for 'crack' (I've seen this before). I'm unsure of the 'short' bit.
'on stern of cruise ship' is the wordplay.
'stern of' says to take the final letters (stern can mean back).
'ship' becomes 'liner' (as in an ocean liner).
The last letter of 'cruise' is 'e'.
'on'+'e'+'liner'='ONE-LINER'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for one-liner that I've seen before include "Quick quip?" , "Terse joke" , "Short joke - witty remark" , "Witty remark in single short sentence" , "Quick gag" .)