Crossword Genius

I tucked into tea, not ardently consumed (3,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ate into

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'consumed' is the definition.
('eat into' can be a synonym of 'consume')

'i tucked into tea not ardently' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'i' could be 'a' and 'a' is located in the answer.
'into' could be 'in' and 'in' is found in the answer.
'tea' could be 't' (I've seen this in other clues) and 't' is located in the answer.
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.
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