Paramour loses head, observing extremely rude deed - an excessive response, perhaps (12)

I believe the answer is:

overreaction

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'excessive response perhaps' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'paramour loses head observing extremely rude deed' is the wordplay.
'paramour' becomes 'lover' (I've seen this before).
'loses head' means to remove the first letter.
'observing extremely rude deed' becomes 'reaction' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'lover' with its initial letter taken off is 'over'.
'over'+'reaction'='OVERREACTION'

'an' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for overreaction that I've seen before include "Excessive response" , "Extreme response" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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