Animal killers held in esteem, a tad, or scorn (8)
I believe the answer is:
matadors
'animal killers' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'held in esteem a tad or scorn' is the wordplay.
'held in' indicates a hidden word.
'MATADORS' can be found hidden inside 'esteem a tad or scorn'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for matadors that I've seen before include "The bullfighters who kill the bulls" , "They kill bulls for sport" , "Spanish bull-fighters" , "Spanish sportsmen" .)