They are a sorry lot (9)

I believe the answer is:

penitents

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

'a sorry lot' is the wordplay.
'a sorry' becomes 'penitent' (I've seen this in another clue).
'lot' becomes 's' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'penitent'+'s'='PENITENTS'

'are' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for penitents that I've seen is " They're ashamed".)

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

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