Crossword Genius

Switzerland with weak defence? Hardly! (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

punchy

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'defence? hardly' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'switzerland with weak' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'switzerland' could be 'ch' (short for Confoederatio Helvetica, its Latin name) and 'ch' is found within the answer.
'weak' could be 'puny' (similar in meaning) and 'puny' is found in the remaining letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for punchy that I've seen before include "Cutting" , "Forceful" , "like a former magazine?" , "Hard-hitting" , "Sharp and powerful" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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