Crossword Genius

A great loss nearly spoilt Freud's early childhood (4,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

oral stage

'freud's early childhood' is the definition.
(term used by Sigmund Freud)

'a great loss nearly spoilt' is the wordplay.
'nearly' means to remove the last letter.
'spoilt' indicates an anagram.
'a'+'great'+'loss'='agreatloss'
'agreatloss' with its final letter removed is 'agreatlos'.
'agreatlos' anagrammed gives 'ORAL STAGE'.

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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