So they turn around to take in people holding signs (5)
I believe the answer is:
omens
'signs' is the definition.
(I know this)
'so they turn around to take in people' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'around' could be 'o' (a round letter) and 'o' is present in the answer.
'people' could be 'men' (men are people) and 'men' is found within the answer.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'holding' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for omens that I've seen before include "Harbingers, portents" , "Portents, prophetic signs" , "Auguries" , "Signs or warnings for the future" , "Augurs" .)