Short male escaping charge (electric primarily) (5)
I believe the answer is:
terse
'short' is the definition.
('terse' can be a synonym of 'short')
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for terse that I've seen before include "Brief and to the point" , "Brief; abrupt" , "Brusque and curt" , "Of speech, short and pithy" , "Trees (anag.)" .)