Is he in command by virtue of seniority? (3,3)
I believe the answer is:
old man
'is he in command by virtue of seniority?' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.
'is he' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'he' could be 'man' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'man' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'old' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for old man that I've seen before include "Informal name for father, husband or ship's captain" , "Boyfriend" , "Husband (inf)" , "Husband - father - boss" , "Master?" .)