Where tallyman's subordinates have illicit trade? (5,3,7)
I believe the answer is:
under the counter
'trade?' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for under the counter that I've seen before include "Serving only favoured customers" , "Sold illicitly" , "Secretly" , "Surreptitiously" , "avoiding controls" .)