Dancer’s means of reaching the top, might one say? (7)
I believe the answer is:
astaire
'dancer's' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'means of reaching the top might one say?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'means' could be 'air' (I have seen 'Means of travelling' mean 'air ' so perhaps 'means' could also mean 'air ') and 'air' is present in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
'one' could be 'a' (a thing is one thing) and 'a' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'se' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for astaire that I've seen before include "A satire about Fred, great Hollywood dancer" , "dance performer" , "US dancer (Top Hat)" , "Fred --, dancer/actor" , "Fred, Hollywood dancing icon" .)