In the middle of mass, father grimaced, suffering from it? (6)
I believe the answer is:
asthma
'in' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot understand how they can define each other.
'middle of mass father grimaced suffering from it?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'middle' could be 'm' (abbreviation for middle) and 'm' is present in the answer.
'it?' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'asha' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for asthma that I've seen before include "Mat has a breathing disorder" , "Breathing illness" , "Common breathing ailment" , "inspiring trouble" , "Lung condition" .)