Pains endured by a major city hosting game (5)
I believe the answer is:
agony
'pains endured' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'a major city hosting game' is the wordplay.
'major city' becomes 'NY' (New York).
'hosting' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are welcomed in or hosted).
'game' becomes 'go' (go is a board game).
'a'+'ny'='any'
'any' going around 'go' is 'AGONY'.
'by' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for agony that I've seen before include "Distress" , "Great pain or suffering" , "Terrible pain" , "Suffering - anguish" , "Pain, torment" .)