Row about university left dons worthless deal in the end (5)
I believe the answer is:
scull
'row' is the definition.
(to scull is to row a boat with sculls)
'university left dons worthless deal in the end' is the wordplay.
'university left' becomes 'cul' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'dons' means one lot of letters goes inside another (don means to wear or put on).
'in the end' suggests the final letters.
The final letters of 'worthless deal' are 'sl'.
'cul' placed into 'sl' is 'SCULL'.
'about' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scull that I've seen before include "Blade" , "Light rowing boat" , "A single oar" , "Small oar" , "Row with two oars" .)