Curiously subtler and almost of lower status (9)

I believe the answer is:

subaltern

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'lower status' is the definition.
'subaltern' can be an answer for 'lower' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'status' bit.

'curiously subtler and almost' is the wordplay.
'curiously' indicates an anagram.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (almost the whole word is kept).
'subtler'+'and'='subtlerand'
'subtlerand' with its last letter taken off is 'subtleran'.
'subtleran' is an anagram of 'SUBALTERN'.

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for subaltern that I've seen before include "Junior officer" , "Lesser official" , "Army officer below the rank of captain" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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