Fine cut to fail dismally (4)
I believe the answer is:
flop
'fail dismally' is the definition.
'flop' can be an answer for 'fail' (flopping is a kind of failing). I am not sure about the 'dismally' bit.
'fine cut' is the wordplay.
'fine' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'cut' becomes 'lop' (lopping is a kind of cutting).
'f'+'lop'='FLOP'
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for flop that I've seen before include "Utter failure" , "Total failure; fall heavily" , "Dud - bomb" , "Community cards in poker" , "Fail" .)