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Stars in the old town playing around on rank (4,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ursa major

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

'stars in the old town' is the definition.
'ursa major' can be an answer for 'stars' (I've seen this before). I am not sure about the 'in the old town' bit.

'playing around on rank' is the wordplay.
'playing around' becomes 'ursa' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'rank' becomes 'major' (military rank).
'ursa'+'major'='URSA MAJOR'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ursa major that I've seen before include "Great Bear constellation" , "Big Dipper (Lat.)" , "Constellation containing the Plough" , "Group of stars" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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