Brusque in Battersea (5)
I believe the answer is:
terse
'brusque' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'in battersea' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates a hidden word.
'TERSE' is hidden within 'battersea'.
(Other definitions for terse that I've seen before include "Trees (anag.)" , "Aphoristic" , "Crisply brief" , "Pithy and concise" , "Short and succinct" .)