One of those prickly types who avoid being direct and monopolise (8)
I believe the answer is:
hedgehog
'one of those prickly types who avoid' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'direct and monopolise' is the wordplay.
'direct' becomes 'hedge' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'monopolise' becomes 'hog' (I've seen this before).
'hedge'+'hog'='HEDGEHOG'
'being' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hedgehog that I've seen before include "Prickly garden animal" , "Spiny mammal" , "Nocturnal insectivore" , "Small prickly insectivore" , "eater of slugs" .)