Crossword Genius

Frugal bath was running — little time to fill that (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spartan

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'frugal' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'bath was running little time to fill that' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'bath' could be 'spa' (Bath is a spa town) and 'spa' is found within the answer.
'time' could be 't' (abbreviation) and 't' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ran' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for spartan that I've seen before include "Indifferent to luxury" , "Of conditions, simple and harsh as for ancient Greeks" , "Rather austere" , "austere old Greek" , "Austere, lacking comfort" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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