Crossword Genius

Unskilled worker an associate of Bill? That's not true (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

coolie

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

'unskilled worker' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'an associate of bill? that's not true' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is located in the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is found in the answer.
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'cle' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for coolie that I've seen before include "Unskilled worker" , "Unskilled native labourer in eastern countries" , "Chinese labourer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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