Punch egghead, real bastard (he's only little) (10)

I believe the answer is:

leprechaun

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'he's only little' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'punch egghead real bastard' is the wordplay.
'egghead' becomes 'e' (head letter of 'egg').
'bastard' indicates an anagram (bastard can mean impure or mixed).
'punch'+'e'+'real'='punchereal'
'punchereal' with letters rearranged gives 'LEPRECHAUN'.

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(Other definitions for leprechaun that I've seen before include "Elf in Irish folklore" , "Mischievous imp" , "Mischievous Irish sprite" , "He helps Irish housewife" , "Mischievous Irish elf" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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