Crossword Genius

A gremlin up in the air is a malicious type (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

maligner

'a malicious type' is the definition.

'a gremlin up in the air' is the wordplay.
'up in the air' indicates an anagram.
'a'+'gremlin'='agremlin'
'agremlin' anagrammed gives 'MALIGNER'.

'is' acts as a link.

(Another definition for maligner that I've seen is " One criticises".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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