Crossword Genius

Talks to many head tradesmen (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chatters

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

'talks' is the definition.
(I know this)

'many head tradesmen' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'many' could be 'c' (C is the Roman numeral for 100) and 'c' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'hatters' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chatters that I've seen before include "Blabbers" , "Talks idly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app