Whiskey starts machine operator in lively dance (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
irish jig
'dance' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'whiskey starts machine operator in lively' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'whiskey' could be 'irish' (Irish whiskey is an example) and 'irish' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'jig' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for irish jig that I've seen is " Dance in Limerick?".)