Stripes, in the sense of punishment (5)
I believe the answer is:
'punishment' is the definition.
'stripes in the sense' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'in' is within the answer.
The remaining letters 'les' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lines that I've seen before include "old-fashioned school punishment" , "form of school punishment" , "imposition" , "Actor's text" , "Items" .)