Pusillanimity gets chop after Coalition starts fighting (9)
I believe the answer is:
cowardice
'pusillanimity' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'chop after coalition starts fighting' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'fighting' could be 'war' and 'war' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'gets' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cowardice that I've seen before include "Craven fear in face of enemy" , "Lack of bravery" , "Yellowness" , "Spinelessness" , "Severe lack of courage" .)