Crossword Genius

Mother figure spreading heavenly food around party (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

madonna

'mother figure' is the definition.
(name for the Virgin Mary)

'food around party' is the wordplay.
'food' becomes 'manna' (manna is a kind of food).
'around' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'party' becomes 'do' (do is a kind of party).
'manna' going around 'do' is 'MADONNA'.

'spreading heavenly' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.

(Other definitions for madonna that I've seen before include "Lady - type of 1 across" , "Religious art subject - pop singer, b. 1958" , "Virgin Mary - or American showbiz queen" , "Religious work" , "Like a Virgin singer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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