Monster (“bully”) youngster clutches almost tight (8)
I believe the answer is:
minotaur
'monster' is the definition.
(Minotaur is an example)
'bully youngster clutches almost tight' is the wordplay.
'bully youngster' becomes 'minor' (synonyms. I am not sure about the 'bully' bit.).
'clutches' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'tight' becomes 'taut' (synonyms).
'taut' with its last letter removed is 'tau'.
'minor' enclosing 'tau' is 'MINOTAUR'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for minotaur that I've seen before include "Cretan labyrinth resident" , "Mythical beast of Crete" , "awful beast" , "Bull-headed Cretan monster" , "Mythical bull-headed monster" .)