In moments that pass too briefly, news of Spartacus ? (5-3-6)

I believe the answer is:

sword-and-sandal

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

'in moments that pass' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adjective which matches the answer.

'too briefly news of spartacus ?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'too' could be 'and' and 'and' is present in the answer.
'news' could be 'word' (synonyms) and 'word' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

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