They are totally enthralled (8)

I believe the answer is:

bondsmen

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

'totally enthralled' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'enthralled' could be 'bond' ('bond' can be a synonym of 'enthralled') and 'bond' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'are' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

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

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