Nearly no good, nearly type nothing (5)

I believe the answer is:

nihil

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'nothing' is the definition.
('nihil' means 'nothing' in Latin)

I can't explain the remainder of the clue.

(Other definitions for nihil that I've seen before include "'... obstat' - Catholic imprimatur or approval" , "Nothing (Latin)" , "love" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times and The Times.

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