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Pirate tape gets Hawthorn in strife (2,3,7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

on the warpath

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'pirate' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'tape gets hawthorn in strife' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'strife' could be 'war' (I've seen this before) and 'war' is found within the answer.
an anagram of 'tape' is 'epat' which is within the left over letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for on the warpath that I've seen before include "In a state of anger - preparing to engage in battle" , "Ready, in anger, to put right a perceived wrong" , "Having a hostile attitude" , "Where you might find the brave" , "angry" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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