He's less than valiant (3)
I believe the answer is:
ian
'he's' is the definition.
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ian that I've seen before include "The familar Dr Paisley" , "Albert Beale's first name in EastEnders" , ". . . Botham, . . . Woosnam" , "- McEwan, Eng. writer" , "- Fleming (James Bond)" .)