Crossword Genius

Father has beer with no head and fried food (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fritter

'fried food' is the definition.

'father has beer with no head' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'fr' (abbreviation as in a priest's title).
'has' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'beer' becomes 'bitter' (bitter is a type of beer).
'with no head' means to remove the first letter.
'bitter' with its initial letter taken off is 'itter'.
'fr'+'itter'='FRITTER'

'and' is the link.

(Other definitions for fritter that I've seen before include "Waste time or money on frivolities" , "bit of batter" , "blow" , "Item cooked in batter" , "while away?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app