Marionettes (7)
I believe the answer is:
puppets
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">marionettes</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">('puppet' can be a synonym of 'marionette')</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for puppets that I've seen before include "Marionettes" , "They're operated from above with strings" , "Stringfellows?" , "Dolls on strings" .)