Are they handy for holding up dates? (5)
I believe the answer is:
palms
'dates?' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their -s form, I cannot see how they can define each other.
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for palms that I've seen before include "Large, tropical trees" , "Hand parts or tropical trees" .)