Crossword Genius

Clothed English or American guys (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dudes

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

'guys' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'clothed english or american' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'english' could be 'e' (abbreviation) and 'e' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'duds' 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 dudes that I've seen before include "American blokes" , "American dandies or city dwellers" , "Civilians, to a cowboy" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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