Used to be poor at the last with little around (4)

I believe the answer is:

were

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'used to be' is the definition.
(eg 'you were...' means 'you used to be...')

'poor at the last with little around' is the wordplay.
'at the last' says to take the final letters.
'with little' becomes 'wee' (similar in meaning. I am not sure about the 'with' bit.).
'around' indicates putting letters inside.
The last letter of 'poor' is 'r'.
'r' inserted inside 'wee' is 'WERE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for were that I've seen before include "Existed in the past" , "(You/we/they) existed" , "Used to be" , "(We/you) existed" , "SECOND PART OF 9" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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