Cryptic clue man's provided for John Bull's ally? (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
uncle sam
'for john bull's ally?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'cryptic clue man's' is the wordplay.
'cryptic' indicates an anagram (a cryptic or obscure order of the letters).
'clue'+'mans'='cluemans'
'cluemans' anagrammed gives 'UNCLE SAM'.
'provided' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for uncle sam that I've seen before include "Personification of the States" , "Embodiment of the USA" , "Iconic American male relative" , "America as a recruiting officer" , "Iconic male relative of USA" .)