Firm given fighting chance, shying away from it? (9)
I believe the answer is:
cowardice
'shying away from it?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'firm given fighting chance' is the wordplay.
'firm' becomes 'co' (a firm is a company).
'given' says to put letters next to each other.
'fighting' becomes 'war'.
'chance' becomes 'dice' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'co'+'war'+'dice'='COWARDICE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cowardice that I've seen before include "Craven fear in face of enemy" , "Timidity - lack of courage" , "Yellowness" , "Spinelessness" , "not bravery, either" .)