Trouble-maker turning up in row I avoided (3)
I believe the answer is:
elf
'trouble-maker' is the definition.
'turning up in row i avoided' is the wordplay.
'turning up in' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'row' becomes 'file'.
'avoided' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'file' with 'i' taken out is 'fle'.
'fle' written backwards gives 'ELF'.
(Other definitions for elf that I've seen before include "Santa's helper" , "Mischievous sprite" , "A small sprite with magic powers" , "Mischievous fairies" , "Mischievous creature" .)