Alexander not finishing small pastries after suit bursts (4,3,6)
I believe the answer is:
fits and starts
'bursts' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'alexander not finishing small pastries after suit' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'small' could be 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size) and 's' is found within the answer.
'pastries' could be 'tarts' (tart is a kind of pastry) and 'tarts' is found in the answer.
'suit' could be 'fit' (synonyms) and 'fit' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ands' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for fits and starts that I've seen before include "Spasmodic spells" , "Irregular bursts of activity" , "Repeated bursts of activity" .)