Crossword Genius

The Killers or Stock, Aitken and Waterman, say (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hitmen

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

'the killers or stock aitken' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'and waterman say' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'hitme' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for hitmen that I've seen is " Offers".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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