Crossword Genius

Person helping polish big gun in building (6,3,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bricks and mortar

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

'building' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how one could define the other.

'person helping polish big gun' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'person' could be 'brick' (brick is a kind of person) and 'brick' is present in the answer.
'polish' could be 'sand' (to polish or sand down) and 'sand' is found within the answer.
'gun' could be 'mortar' (mortar is a kind of gun) and 'mortar' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for bricks and mortar that I've seen before include "Housing" , "buildings" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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