One is not openly menaced by them (6,7)

I believe the answer is:

veiled threats

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

'them' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'one is not openly menaced by' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'one' could be 'i' (Roman numeral) and 'i' is present in the answer.
'by' could be 'at' and 'at' is found in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail and The Irish Independent.

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.