Awfully like crab, is not laidback ultimately — but this? (9)
I believe the answer is:
irascible
'crab is not laidback ultimately but this?' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun but the answer is not.
'awfully like' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'like' could be 'as' and 'as' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for irascible that I've seen before include "Short-tempered" , "peppery" , "Crabbed" , "Cantankerous" , "bilious" .)