What a sniffer dog might do to dominate? (4,2,3,4)
I believe the answer is:
lead by the nose
'dominate?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'what a sniffer dog might do' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'sniffer' could be 'nose' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'nose' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lead by the nose that I've seen before include "Cause to obey submissively" , "in position to sniff at heavy metal?" , "Control (someone) totally" , "Fool" , "Make (someone) follow submissively" .)