Crossword Genius

In our bag you'll find small spar (5,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cross swords

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

'spar' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'in our bag you'll find small' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'small' could be 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size) and 's' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'crosswords' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cross swords that I've seen before include "fight" , "quarrel" , "puzzles like this" , "Get into a dispute" , "Have a disagreement" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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