Italian butterflies passenger catches drop dead (8)

I believe the answer is:

farfalle

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'italian butterflies' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.

'passenger catches drop dead' is the wordplay.
'passenger' becomes 'fare' (fare is a kind of passenger).
'catches' is an insertion indicator.
'drop dead' becomes 'fall' (synonyms. I am not sure about the 'dead' bit.).
'fare' enclosing 'fall' is 'FARFALLE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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