Crossword Genius

Singer on drug taking break in squalid room (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rathole

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

'squalid room' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'singer on drug taking break in' is the wordplay.
'singer' becomes 'rat' (both can mean an informant).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'drug' becomes 'e' (E is another name for ecstasy).
'taking' indicates putting letters inside.
'break in' becomes 'hol' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'rat'+'e'='rate'
'rate' enclosing 'hol' is 'RATHOLE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rathole that I've seen before include "pit" , "Rodent entrance" , "Sign of infestation" , "squalid room" , "Dirty room" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.