Nasty smell by area in pub (7)
I believe the answer is:
inhuman
'nasty' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'smell by area in pub' is the wordplay.
'smell' becomes 'hum' (something with a bad smell is 'humming').
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'pub' becomes 'inn' (an inn is a type of pub).
'hum'+'a'='huma'
'huma' put within 'inn' is 'INHUMAN'.
(Other definitions for inhuman that I've seen before include "Callously cruel" , "Without compunction" , "diabolical ..." , "Beastly" , "Nasty" .)