Thus has time for drinker (3)
I believe the answer is:
sot
'for drinker' is the definition.
(sot is a kind of drinker)
'thus has time' is the wordplay.
'thus' becomes 'so' (synonyms).
'has' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'so'+'t'='SOT'
(Other definitions for sot that I've seen before include "Lush" , "One drinks" , "Toper" , "One's often intoxicated" , "drunk" .)