Crossword Genius

Exchanging small place in East London (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

swapping

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'exchanging' is the definition.
(swapping is a kind of exchanging)

'small place in east london' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'small' could be 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size) and 's' is located in the answer.
'place' could be 'pin' and 'pin' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for swapping that I've seen before include "Changing" , "Exchanging for something" , "Trading" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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