Crossword Genius

Orifice through which the tea is poured? (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pothole

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

'orifice through which the tea is poured?' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how they can define each other.

'orifice through which the' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'orifice' could be 'hole' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'hole' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'po' 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 pothole that I've seen before include "Narrow cave" , "Hollow in road" , "Deep water-made cave, pit in road" , "depression on the way!" , "that can be problem when driving" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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