Fuel soldier dropped: smell rising (8)
I believe the answer is:
paraffin
'fuel' is the definition.
(I know that paraffin is a type of coal oil)
'soldier dropped smell rising' is the wordplay.
'soldier' becomes 'para' (short for paratrouper).
'dropped smell' becomes 'niff' (niff is a kind of smell. I am not sure about the 'dropped' bit.).
'rising' says the letters should be written in reverse (going up in a down clue).
'niff' written backwards gives 'ffin'.
'para'+'ffin'='PARAFFIN'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for paraffin that I've seen before include "Liquid fuel" , "Possibly oil" , "Fuel oil obtained from petroleum or coal" , "Flammable wax" , "Petroleum product" .)