Curse the fellow, he is half a tyrant (8)

I believe the answer is:

maledict

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

'curse' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'the fellow he is half a tyrant' is the wordplay.
'the fellow he' becomes 'male' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'is half a' means to take half the letters.
'tyrant' becomes 'dictator' (I've seen this before).
'dictator' cut in half is 'dict'.
'male'+'dict'='MALEDICT'

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app