Crossword Genius

Conductors head off social climbers? (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ushers

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

'climbers?' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?

'conductors head off social' is the wordplay.
'conductors' becomes 'cus' (Cu is an example).
'head off' means to remove the first letter.
'social' becomes 'hers' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'cus' with its initial letter removed is 'us'.
'us'+'hers'='USHERS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ushers that I've seen before include "They escort people to seats" , "They show people to their seats in theatres" , "Escorts" , "Theatre attendants" , "Do they lead" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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