Very poor baby, small but avoiding extremes (7)
I believe the answer is:
abysmal
'very poor' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'baby small but avoiding extremes' is the wordplay.
'ABYSMAL' is hidden in amongst the letters.
But, I'm uncertain how the hidden word is indicated.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abysmal that I've seen before include "Very deep or bad" , "Extremely bad - lamb, say (anag)" , "Deplorable, extremely bad - say ignorance" , "Very deeply bad" , "Deep, immeasurable" .)