Crossword Genius

Scattered boxes close to store (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sparse

'scattered' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'boxes close to store' is the wordplay.
'boxes' becomes 'spars' (sparring is a kind of boxing).
'close to' indicates one should take the final letters (the close/ending of).
The last letter of 'store' is 'e'.
'spars'+'e'='SPARSE'

(Other definitions for sparse that I've seen before include "Thin on the ground, scarce" , "Far from lavish" , "rarely occurring" , "not packed together" , "Thinly dotted about" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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