He's absorbed in a steel merger (5)

I believe the answer is:

elmer

'he's' is the definition.

'absorbed in a steel merger' is the wordplay.
'absorbed in' indicates a hidden word.
'ELMER' can be found hidden inside 'a steel merger'.

(Other definitions for elmer that I've seen before include "name" , "Man" , "____ Rice, US dramatist" , "- - Gantry (book, film)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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