Crossword Genius

Formerly you have prophetic sign for British farmers (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

yeomen

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

'farmers' is the definition.
(I have seen 'farmers of old' mean 'yeomen' so perhaps 'farmers' could also mean 'yeomen')

'formerly you have prophetic sign for british' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'you' could be 'ye' (historical version of 'you') and 'ye' is located in the answer.
'sign' could be 'omen' (omen is a kind of sign) and 'omen' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for yeomen that I've seen before include "Freeholders (historical)" , "Freeholders (hist.)" , "Guards" , "Petty officers" , "farmers of old" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.