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Anybody else found this exceptionally difficult? Took me twice as long as normal!

Also; very unusual clue (8 down) appeared exactly as below;

This child, with
mites,
discombobulates
misanthrope (6)

Presumably "orphan" but is this the weirdest &lit or a previously unknown type of clue?

It appears to be subtractive anagram

misanthrope minus mites = orphan

or put another way
this child (orphan)
+ mites = misanthrope (when discombobulated - anagrammed)

Thanks for that Jazzie, but in addition do we have "mites" being an "orphan" as an &lit in the typographical sense?

I can't see what you're seeing Paul, but someone else maybe can ?

I suppose an orphan who has mites might confuse or upset a misanthrope (person who is not happy with humankind) so it seems I agree with you

... although not all poor little orphans would have mites :(

Sorry if it's a case of grandma/eggs but I was referring to the word "mites" as being an example of an "orphan" i.e. a word ending a paragraph appearing as a single word on a line!

On reflection, your explanation is probably the complete version - I'm almost certainly over-analysing this! It is the Mail, after all, not the Listener! Just seemed plausible....

I often do not see the wood for the trees Paul. ;) Our friend Jolan was so good at constructing subtractive anagrams. They were my favourite