Crossword Genius

So to speak, it will be you issuing a command (2,3,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

as you were

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

'so to speak it will' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'be you issuing a command' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'you' could be 'u' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'u' is present in the answer.
'be' could be 'owe' (owing is a kind of being) and 'owe' is located in the remaining letters.
'a' is within the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for as you were that I've seen before include "order for military" , "Go back to earlier attitude" , "Military command to return to previous position" , "back to square one" , "Never mind" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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