English spar, showing wit (6)
I believe the answer is:
esprit
'wit' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'english spar' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'spar' becomes 'sprit' (sprit is a kind of spar).
'e'+'sprit'='ESPRIT'
'showing' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for esprit that I've seen before include "Liveliness of wit" , "Vivacity - wit" , "wit from France" , "... de corps, team spirit" , "French morale as in de corps?" .)