Fairly inflexible suits sent back by swimmer (8)

I believe the answer is:

stiffish

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'fairly inflexible' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'suits sent back by swimmer' is the wordplay.
'suits' becomes 'fits' ('fit' can be a synonym of 'suit').
'sent back' is a reversal indicator.
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'swimmer' becomes 'fish' (fish swim).
'fits' backwards is 'stif'.
'stif'+'fish'='STIFFISH'

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(Another definition for stiffish that I've seen is " quite starchy".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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