Crossword Genius

Forger who makes his money the hard way (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

smith

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

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

'makes his money the hard way' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'money' could be 'm' (abbreviation used in economics) and 'm' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
an anagram of 'his' is 'sih' which is within the left over letters.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'who' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for smith that I've seen before include "Common family name" , "Metal-worker" , "See 14" , "Black . . . . . or gun . . . . ." , "Bessie - - , blues singer" .)

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