Was a smuggler, too, but a loser (4-3)
I believe the answer is:
also-ran
'a loser' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'was a smuggler too' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is present in the answer.
'too' could be 'so' (synonyms) and 'so' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'but' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for also-ran that I've seen before include "Not among the first three in race" , "Losing runner" , "Unplaced racehorse" , "Unplaced competitor" , "Contestant losing by a large margin" .)