Crossword Genius

A paid player (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

piper

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

'player' is the definition.
(I know that piper is a type of player)

'a paid' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'per' (eg 'one a day' means 'one per day') and 'per' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'pi' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for piper that I've seen before include "who puffs out his cheeks?" , "Highland musician" , "Musician (who gets paid?)" , "eg Flautist" , "Musical blower" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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