A little out of place on this site, but I have an account here, so... Question: I found this sentence in a book and wondered what 'spars' means here. To my left and back, sparse piney woods. Context: the narrator is describing her surroundings. Could it be a typo? Suggestions on the meaning or alternative?
Well, firstly you've spelt them differently in your question and in the line taken from the book. 'Sparse' (pronounced like the English 'Arse') means bare, not thick or dense. 'Spar' means to practice boxing. 'Spars' (with an S) doesn't really mean anything I don't think, other than being the plural of 'spar', as in "Tom is a boxer and he spars down at the gym.". Even then I think this is probably poor English.