Crossword Genius

Companies supply wood and paper for publication (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

firms

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

'companies' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'wood and paper for publication' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'wood' could be 'fir' (fir is a kind of wood) and 'fir' is present in the answer.
'paper' could be 'ms' (abbreviation for manuscript) and 'ms' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'supply' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for firms that I've seen is " Companies".)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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