Crossword Genius

Smell of hooligans under mouldy old seats (6,8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rotten boroughs

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

'seats' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both locations as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?

'smell of hooligans under mouldy old' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'smell' could be 'bo' (abbreviation for Body Odour) and 'bo' is located in the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is found within the answer.
'old' could be 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English) and 'o' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Daily Mail.
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.