Crossword Genius

Has empathy for swimmers after failure (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

feels

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

'has empathy for' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'swimmers after failure' is the wordplay.
'swimmers' becomes 'eels' (eel is a kind of aquatic vertebrate).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'failure' becomes 'f' (this might be a standard abbreviation of which I'm unaware).
'eels' put after 'f' is 'FEELS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for feels that I've seen is " Is affected by".)

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