End of big army left by yard like mere shadows (7)
I believe the answer is:
ghostly
'end of big army left by yard like mere shadows' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'end of big army left by yard' is the wordplay.
'end of' suggests the final letters.
'army' becomes 'host' (host is a kind of army).
'left by' becomes 'l' (I've seen this in other clues).
'yard' becomes 'y' (abbreviation).
The last letter of 'big' is 'g'.
'g'+'host'+'l'+'y'='GHOSTLY'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ghostly that I've seen before include "Eerie, unnatural" , "Phantasmal" , "Phantom-like, spectral" , "Spectral, like Marley" .)