Crossword Genius

Pathetic type’s small circle including a couple of daughters (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

saddo

'pathetic type's' is the definition.
(saddo can informally mean a pathetic person)

'small circle including a couple of daughters' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'circle' becomes 'o' (O is a circle).
'including' is an insertion indicator.
'couple of' shows that letters should be duplicated.
'daughters' becomes 'd' (genealogical abbreviation for daughters).
's'+'o'='so'
'd' duplicated is 'dd'.
'a'+'dd'='add'
'so' going around 'add' is 'SADDO'.

(Other definitions for saddo that I've seen before include "pathetic person" , "Boring loner" , "loser" , "nerdy type" , "lonely person" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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