Some wood elves do a lot of digging (5)
I believe the answer is:
delve
'do a lot of digging' is the definition.
'some wood elves' is the wordplay.
'some' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'DELVE' is hidden in the letters of 'wood elves'.
(Other definitions for delve that I've seen before include "Look closely (into)" , "Dig up - search" , "Dig - rummage" , "Hollow" , "Burrow" .)