Wife that was cheeky and clever (6)
I believe the answer is:
expert
'clever' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'wife that was cheeky' is the wordplay.
'wife that was' becomes 'ex' (an ex-wife).
'cheeky' becomes 'pert' (I've seen this before).
'ex'+'pert'='EXPERT'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for expert that I've seen before include "Dab hand" , "Buff" , "Master" , "Having specialised knowledge" , "Person with special knowledge or ability" .)