Crossword Genius

The most unaffected listener on the street I inhabit (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

earthiest

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

'street i inhabit' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'the most unaffected listener on the' is the wordplay.
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
'most unaffected' becomes 'hies' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'listener' becomes 'ear' (body part which hears or listens).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'the' becomes 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects).
't'+'hies'='thies'
'thies' after 'ear' is 'earthies'.
'earthies'+'t'='EARTHIEST'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for earthiest that I've seen is " The most coarse".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app