Crossword Genius

Line by odd, heartless, witty eccentric causing hubbub (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rowdydow

'hubbub' is the definition.

'line by odd heartless witty eccentric' is the wordplay.
'line' becomes 'row' (row is a kind of line**).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'heartless' suggests removing the centre.
'eccentric' indicates anagramming the letters.
'witty' with its centre taken out is 'wy'.
'odd'+'wy'='oddwy'
'oddwy' anagrammed gives 'dydow'.
'row'+'dydow'='ROWDYDOW'

'causing' is the link.

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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