Shifty manoeuvres of a ship around a river (5)
I believe the answer is:
scams
'shifty manoeuvres' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both acts as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'ship around a river' is the wordplay.
'ship' becomes 'SS' (prefix in ship names eg SS Great Britain).
'around' is an insertion indicator.
'a river' becomes 'cam' (river in Cambridge, England).
'ss' placed around 'cam' is 'SCAMS'.
'of a' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scams that I've seen before include "Fraudulent business schemes" , "fraudulent activities" , "Frauds (sl.)" .)