Crossword Genius

Old couple of Democrats, Party's eccentrics (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

oddballs

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'eccentrics' is the definition.
('oddball' can be a synonym of 'eccentric')

'old couple of democrats party's' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'o' (abbreviation).
'couple of' shows that letters should be duplicated.
'democrats' becomes 'd' (this could be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'party's' becomes 'ball's' (ball is a kind of party).
'd' doubled is 'dd'.
'o'+'dd'+'balls'='ODDBALLS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for oddballs that I've seen before include "Bold lads? (anag)" , "Weirdos" , "nuts" , "Eccentric types" , "peculiar characters" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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