They extract middle verse after it was described as affectedly cutesy in last letter (8)
I believe the answer is:
tweezers
'they' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are plural nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tweezers that I've seen before include "Hand tool for taming eyebrows" , "Hair-plucking tool" , "Implement for gripping small objects" , "Small pincers" , "Nose hair pullers?" .)