Small drink obtained before a litre as full amount (5)
I believe the answer is:
total
'full amount' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'small drink obtained before a litre' is the wordplay.
'small drink' becomes 'tot' (I've seen this before).
'obtained before' becomes 'a' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'a litre' becomes 'L' (abbreviation).
'tot'+'a'+'l'='TOTAL'
'as' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for total that I've seen before include "The whole, sum" , "Damage beyond repair" , "Complete, entire amount" , "to give the final figure" , "Whole amount" .)