Wise men, say, are only a little patriotic (4)
I believe the answer is:
trio
'wise men say' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.
'only a little patriotic' is the wordplay.
'only a little' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'TRIO' is hidden in the letters of 'patriotic'.
'are' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for trio that I've seen before include "Threesome" , "Chamber group" , "Three together" , "Beethoven's 'Archduke', for instance" , "Riot (anag)" .)