Being tight-lipped, in case of some battle (7)

I believe the answer is:

secrecy

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'being tight-lipped' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'case of some battle' is the wordplay.
'case of' suggests removing the centre (outsides of).
'battle' becomes 'crecy' (Crecy is an example).
'some' with its centre taken out is 'se'.
'se'+'crecy'='SECRECY'

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for secrecy that I've seen before include "Unwillingness to divulge information" , "Suppression of information" , "Concealment" , "Covert activity" , "openly, without protection of this" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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