Crossword Genius

It's a corking preventative! (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stopper

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

'corking preventative' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?

'it's a' is the wordplay.
'it's' becomes 'stop' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'a' becomes 'per' (eg 'one a day' means 'one per day').
'stop'+'per'='STOPPER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for stopper that I've seen before include "Maybe cork" , "Cork - goalkeeper?" , "Perhaps cork" , "Plug for a bottle" , "Bung" .)

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