Crossword Genius

Bananas not far down the road? (5,3,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

round the bend

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'bananas' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'not far down the road?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is present in the answer.
'down' could be 'd' and 'd' is located in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for round the bend that I've seen before include "hidden from view?" , "Insane or very stupid (i)" , "Slightly mad" , "bats" , "Crazy (informal)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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