The sounds of cow-bells with which boatmen are familiar? (8)
I believe the answer is:
moorings
'cow-bells with which boatmen are familiar?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'the sounds of' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'sounds' could be 'rings' (ringing is a kind of sounding) and 'rings' is found in the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'mo' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for moorings that I've seen before include "Berths" , "Anchorage" , "where cats may be secured" .)