Mayo, the youth from Adelaide, say, is donning gear (5,8)
I believe the answer is:
salad dressing
'mayo' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'youth from adelaide say is donning gear' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'youth' could be 'lad' (lad means a young man) and 'lad' is present in the answer.
'from' could be 'in' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'in' is found in the answer.
'gear' could be 'dress' (both can mean clothing) and 'dress' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'sag' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for salad dressing that I've seen before include "Vinaigrette or mayonnaise, for example" , "saucy thing!" , "leaves having taken this coat?" , "Mayonnaise, e.g." , "Eg, Thousand Island or French" .)