Wife as old as us imbibing cider primarily — confidence gained from that? (5,7)
I believe the answer is:
dutch courage
'confidence gained from that?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'wife as old as us imbibing cider primarily' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'dutch' (slang term).
'as old as us' becomes 'our age' (the same age as us).
'imbibing' indicates putting letters inside.
'primarily' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'cider' is 'c'.
'dutch'+'ourage'='dutchourage'
'dutchourage' placed around 'c' is 'DUTCH COURAGE'.
(Other definitions for dutch courage that I've seen before include "Bravery induced by alcohol" , "Confidence gained from drinking alcohol" , "Bottle of drink?" , "False bravery inspired by alcohol" , "effect of alcohol" .)