This beats Paul's cryptic rubbish at a local level? On the contrary! (8)
I believe the answer is:
pulsator
'this beats paul's cryptic rubbish at a local level? on the contrary' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'this beats paul's cryptic rubbish at' is the wordplay.
'this beats' is an anagram indicator.
'cryptic rubbish at' becomes 'tor' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pauls' with letters rearranged gives 'pulsa'.
'pulsa'+'tor'='PULSATOR'
Can you help me to learn more?
I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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