A couple of fellows berate about site of state-sponsored murder (8)
I believe the answer is:
scaffold
'site of state-sponsored murder' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'a couple of fellows berate about' is the wordplay.
'couple of fellows' becomes 'ff' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'berate' becomes 'scold' (synonyms).
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'a'+'ff'='aff'
'aff' placed within 'scold' is 'SCAFFOLD'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scaffold that I've seen before include "Platform on which criminals were executed" , "1960s group?" , "Temporary structure around a building" , "Platform on which criminals were once hung" , "Platform refreshment" .)