Crossword Genius

What it means to a barman (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

italian

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

'barman' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?

'what it means to a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is found in the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for italian that I've seen before include "Ain't Ali out of Rome, perhaps?" , "A Latin I find in Florence, say" , "Native of Milan, say" , "Eg, one from Milan" , "A Latin I know from Rome, say" .)

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