A little animal is terribly lean (4)
I believe the answer is:
list
'lean' is the definition.
(both can mean to tilt)
'a little animal is terribly' is the wordplay.
'a little' indicates a hidden word (a little bit of the clue).
'LIST' is hidden within 'animal is terribly'.
(Other definitions for list that I've seen before include "Note" , "Pay attention" , "please, as before" , "border" , "Ordered array of items" .)