Mother blocking change in old school, say (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
alma mater
'old school say' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't understand how they can define each other.
'mother blocking change' is the wordplay.
'mother' becomes 'mama' (mama informally means mother).
'blocking' is an insertion indicator (to block can mean to plug a gap in something).
'change' becomes 'alter' (synonyms).
'mama' inserted into 'alter' is 'ALMA MATER'.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alma mater that I've seen before include "The old school in Latin phrase" , "(One's) former school" , "Former college" , "One's place of education" , "College (person) attended" .)