Ear dimple, damage of outer skin (9)

I believe the answer is:

epidermal

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'ear dimple damage of outer skin' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'ear dimple damage of' is the wordplay.
'damage of' indicates an anagram (I've seen 'damaged' mean this).
'ear'+'dimple'='eardimple'
'eardimple' anagrammed gives 'EPIDERMAL'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for epidermal that I've seen before include "Of the outer skin" , "Like protective covering" , "Relating to skin surface" , "Like skin" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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