Ale takes action on English yeoman (9)
I believe the answer is:
beefeater
'yeoman' is the definition.
('beefeater' can be a synonym of 'yeoman')
'ale takes action on english' is the wordplay.
'ale' becomes 'beer' (I've seen this before).
'takes' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'action' becomes 'feat' (feat is a kind of action**).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'feat'+'e'='feate'
'beer' enclosing 'feate' is 'BEEFEATER'.
(Other definitions for beefeater that I've seen before include "no vegetarian?" , "Yeoman of the Guard; carnivore" , "Tower of London guard" , "Bodyguard of the British monarch" , "One might guard" .)