Fake pity briefly displayed (4)

I believe the answer is:

sham

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'fake' is the definition.
(sham can mean fake or pretend)

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for sham that I've seen before include "Mock" , "Phoney kind of hams" , "Feign" , "Phoney sort of hams" , "Pretence; bogus, false" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.

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