Crossword Genius

Left with wings clipped - reportedly flew through nasty emissions (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

effluvia

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

'emissions' is the definition.
(effluvium is a kind of emission)

'left with wings clipped reportedly flew through nasty' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'left' could be 'l' (common abbreviation) and 'l' is present in the answer.
'reportedly' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is located in the answer.
'through' could be 'via' (I've seen this before) and 'via' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for effluvia that I've seen before include "Unpleasant discharges" , "nasty exhalations" , "nasty vapours" , "Nasty smells" , "disagreeable vapours" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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