Reinforced, say, fruit salad container upended (10)
I believe the answer is:
buttressed
'reinforced' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'fruit salad container upended' is the wordplay.
'fruit salad' becomes 'dessert' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'container' becomes 'tub' (tub is a kind of container).
'upended' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, letters go up).
'dessert'+'tub'='desserttub'
'desserttub' written backwards gives 'BUTTRESSED'.
'say' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for buttressed that I've seen before include "Reinforced" , "Supported" , "held securely" .)