Alas, a bitter not ordered for him? (5,9)

I believe the answer is:

total abstainer

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'him?' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'alas a bitter not ordered' is the wordplay.
'ordered' indicates an anagram.
'alas'+'a'+'bitter'+'not'='alasabitternot'
'alasabitternot' is an anagram of 'TOTAL ABSTAINER'.

'for' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.

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