Mac gives Joe a hiding and that's charming! (5)
I believe the answer is:
magic
'charming' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'mac gives joe a hiding' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'joe' could be 'gi' (GI Joe) and 'gi' is found within the answer.
'a' is within the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
'and that's' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for magic that I've seen before include "Unexpectedly produce" , "Spelling?" , "Fungus causing trips?" , "Enchantment" , "Prestidigitation" .)