Showing charm, Abel holds the Italian back (8)

I believe the answer is:

talisman

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'showing charm' is the definition.
'talisman' can be an answer for 'charm' (synonyms). I'm not sure about the 'showing' bit.

'abel holds the italian back' is the wordplay.
'abel' becomes 'tasman' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'holds' is an insertion indicator.
'the italian' becomes 'il' ('the' in Italian).
'back' says the letters should be written backwards.
'il' in reverse letter order is 'li'.
'tasman' enclosing 'li' is 'TALISMAN'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for talisman that I've seen before include "Protective charm" , "Good luck token" , "Amulet" , "Charm thought to bring good luck" , "It's thought to be a magical protection against evil or disease" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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