Crossword Genius

Hooligans in carnival site saying little after dropping ecstasy (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rioters

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'hooligans' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both people as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'carnival site saying little after dropping ecstasy' is the wordplay.
'carnival site' becomes 'rio' (I've seen this in another clue).
'saying little' becomes 'trs' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'dropping' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'ecstasy' becomes 'E' (informal term for the drug).
'rio'+'trs'='riotrs'
'riotrs' going around 'e' is 'RIOTERS'.

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rioters that I've seen before include "Violent troublemakers" , "Demonstrators" , "They disturb the peace" , "Rabble-rousers" , "Violent protesters" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.