Mac gives Joe a hiding and that's charming! (5)
I believe the answer is:
magic
'charming' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'mac gives joe a hiding' is the wordplay.
'gives joe' becomes 'gi' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'a hiding' is an insertion indicator.
'mac' going around 'gi' is 'MAGIC'.
'and that's' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for magic that I've seen before include "Unexpectedly produce" , "Spelling?" , "Fungus causing trips?" , "Enchantment" , "Prestidigitation" .)