Crossword Genius

Haggled while the lawyers made a profit (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bargained

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

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

'while the lawyers made a profit' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'lawyers' could be 'bar' (the bar can mean the legal profession) and 'bar' is located in the answer.
'made' could be 'gained' ('gain' can be a synonym of 'make') and 'gained' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for bargained that I've seen before include "Negotiated" , "haggled" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app