Crossword Genius

Perform with diplomacy, after right answer’s only half comprehended (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

transact

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

'perform' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'diplomacy after right answer's only half comprehended' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'right' could be 'r' (common abbreviation) and 'r' is found in the answer.
'answer' could be 'ans' (A common abbreviation) and 'ans' is present in the answer.
'diplomacy' could be 'tact' (I've seen this before) and 'tact' is found in the remaining letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'with' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for transact that I've seen before include "Conduct trade" , "Carry out, like business" , "Buy or sell" , "Manage" , "handle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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