Middleman not finished when penniless (5)
I believe the answer is:
broke
'penniless' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for broke that I've seen before include "Smashed; penniless" , "See 19" , "Ordinal number" , "Shattered" , "Lacking funds" .)