Sort of syrup for a soft-hearted man (5)
I believe the answer is:
maple
'sort of syrup' is the definition.
'a soft-hearted man' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'soft' could be 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano') and 'p' is present in the answer.
'man' could be 'm' and 'm' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
'for' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for maple that I've seen before include "Tree producing syrup" , "Tree with syrupy sap" , "Tree with winged fruits" , "Ample (anag.)" , "Tree providing syrup" .)