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 present in the answer.
'suit' could be 'fit' (synonyms) and 'fit' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ands' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
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" .)