Crossword Genius

Spies a place where men go (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

agents

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

'spies' is the definition.
(secret agents)

'a place where men go' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'men' could be 'gents' (gent is a kind of man) and 'gents' is present in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for agents that I've seen before include "They do business on behalf of others" , "travelling salesmen" , "Factors" , "Spies" , "Instruments" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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