Defenceless, as Venus de Milo may have been? (8)
I believe the answer is:
disarmed
'been?' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are past participle verbs, I cannot understand how one could define the other.
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for disarmed that I've seen before include "Removed the fuse from a bomb" , "Took away weapons" .)