Air of sailor briefly showing temper (6)
I believe the answer is:
season
'temper' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'air of sailor briefly' is the wordplay.
'air of sailor' becomes 'sea song' (a song sung at sea - air can mean a tune).
'briefly' means to remove the last letter.
'seasong' with its last letter taken off is 'SEASON'.
'showing' is the link.
(Other definitions for season that I've seen before include "spring, perhaps" , "Add flavourings" , "To dry (wood) for use as timber" , "Spring, say" , "such as 'Summertime'" .)