Crossword Genius

Getting one’s goat hair half-fleeced by ruler (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

irking

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

'getting one's goat' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'hair half-fleeced by ruler' is the wordplay.
'half' suggests halving the letters.
'fleeced' becomes 'ing' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'ruler' becomes 'K' (abbreviation for king in chess).
'hair' halved is 'ir'.
'ing' put after 'k' is 'king'.
'ir'+'king'='IRKING'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for irking that I've seen before include "Irritating, vexing" , "Annoying, bothering" , "Disgusting" , "Annoying, irritating" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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