Crossword Genius

Call briefly for Ulster fix that works either way (3,2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nip in

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

'works either way' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't tell whether this works.

'call briefly for ulster fix' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'ulster' could be 'ni' (province of Ireland containing Northern Ireland) and 'ni' is located in the answer.
'fix' could be 'pin' (to pin is to fix in place) and 'pin' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'that' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for nip in that I've seen before include "Stop at an early stage - . . . . . the bud" , "Prevent by timely intervention - ... .. the bud" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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