Stimulus given to a sound man (6)
I believe the answer is:
fillip
'stimulus' is the definition.
(I know that fillip is a type of positive stimulus)
'to a sound man' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'man' could be 'fill' and 'fill' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'given' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for fillip that I've seen before include "Sharp stimulus or flick of a finger" , "'Short, quick stimulus (6)'" , "Encouragement, stimulus" , "Stimulus, quick boost" , "shot in the arm" .)