They might stick to bottom in rubbish (3,5)
I believe the answer is:
hot pants
'they might' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.
'stick to bottom in rubbish' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'rubbish' could be 'pants' (informal term meaning poor-quality) and 'pants' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'hot' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hot pants that I've seen before include "Women's very brief shorts" , "These highlight bottom" , "Skimpy women's clothing" , "revealing attire" , "Brief skin-tight shorts worn by young women" .)