Crossword Genius

What's up with trademark by an assassin? (3,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hit man

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'assassin?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'what's up with trademark by an' is the wordplay.
'what's up with' becomes 'hi' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'trademark' becomes 'tm' (abbreviation for trademark).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'hi'+'tm'+'an'='HIT-MAN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hit man that I've seen before include "A modern paid assassin" , "In slang, a hired assassin" , "Liquidator" , "Hired murderer" , "A modern hired assassin" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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