Explicitly, how verbose speeches are made (2,2,4,5)
I believe the answer is:
in so many words
'explicitly' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'verbose speeches are made' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'speeches' could be 'words' (word is a kind of speech) and 'words' is found within the answer.
'are' could be 'a' (short for 'are', historical unit of measurement) and 'a' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'how' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for in so many words that I've seen before include "Explicitly - bluntly" , "Lengthy screed is written so" , "precisely" .)