John briefly upset George perhaps (5)

I believe the answer is:

eliot

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'john' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I can't see?

I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.

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(Other definitions for eliot that I've seen before include "British poet, d. 1965" , "Female novelist" , "Middlemarch author" , "Practical Cats author" , "George - - (novelist)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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