Austere person having starter of squid with vinegary dressing (7)
I believe the answer is:
ascetic
'austere' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'starter of squid with vinegary dressing' is the wordplay.
'starter of' indicates taking the first letters.
'with vinegary' becomes 'acetic' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'with' bit.).
'dressing' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are dressed or clad in others).
The initial letter of 'squid' is 's'.
's' going inside 'acetic' is 'ASCETIC'.
'person having' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ascetic that I've seen before include "Person who leads a severely simple life" , "Austere, Spartan" , "Practising severe self-discipline" , "One who practises extreme self-discipline" , "reclusive" .)