I and others are ... or used to be ...? (4)

I believe the answer is:

were

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

'used to be ?' is the definition.
(eg 'you were...' means 'you used to be...')

I don't understand the remainder of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for were that I've seen before include "(You/we/they) existed" , "Existed in the past" , "SECOND PART OF 9" , "(We/you) existed" , "SECOND PART OF 14" .)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.

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