Crossword Genius

Element drunk? That man's round the bend (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lithium

'element' is the definition.
(lithium is a kind of element)

'drunk? that man's round the bend' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'drunk?' could be 'lit' (slang term) and 'lit' is present in the answer.
'bend' could be 'u' (a U-bend is a kind of bend - pipe under sink) and 'u' is present in the answer.
'man' could be 'hi' and 'hi' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'm' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

(Other definitions for lithium that I've seen before include "Chemical element (Li), used in batteries" , "Lightest-known metal" , "Soft silvery element" , "Silver-white metal (symbol: Li)" , "Lightest metallic element" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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