Staples etc firmly fixed, did you say? (10)
I believe the answer is:
stationery
'staples etc firmly' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'fixed did you say?' is the wordplay.
'fixed' becomes 'stationary' (synonyms).
'did you say?' shows a homophone (sound like).
'stationary' is a homophone of 'STATIONERY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stationery that I've seen before include "Writing paper, etc" , "Treasury tags, for instance" , "The papers, etc" , "Pens, pencils, paper etc" , "Various items in paper" .)