Refusal sent back twice, before sweetheart planted this unaided? (2,4,3)
I believe the answer is:
on ones own
'unaided?' is the definition.
'refusal sent back twice before sweetheart planted' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'refusal' could be 'no' (saying no to something) and 'no' is found within the answer.
'sweetheart' could be 'e' (the heart/centre of 'sweet') and 'e' is located in the answer.
'planted' could be 'sown' (similar in meaning) and 'sown' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'on' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'this' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for on ones own that I've seen before include "Independently" , "Alone" , "Helpless" .)