Crossword Genius

Polite conflict? Hardly! (5,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

civil war

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

'polite conflict? hardly' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'polite conflict?' is the wordplay.
'polite' becomes 'civil' (synonyms).
'conflict?' becomes 'war' (war is a kind of conflict).
'civil'+'war'='CIVIL WAR'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for civil war that I've seen before include "Internecine strife within a country" , "Internal or fratricidal strife in a country" , "A fratricidal conflict of national dimension" , "Internal conflict within country" , "power struggle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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