Crossword Genius

Fighting half-heartedly, being merciful (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sparing

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'merciful' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'fighting half-heartedly' is the wordplay.
'fighting' becomes 'sparring' (to spar is to box).
'half' suggests halving the letters.
'heartedly' becomes 'ing' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'sparring' cut in half is 'spar'.
'spar'+'ing'='SPARING'

'being' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sparing that I've seen before include "Thrifty" , "mean" , "Economical; having mercy" , "Scanty - merciful" , "Moderate, economical" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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