Crossword Genius

Small drinks mask holy man's burdens (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

saddles

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'burdens' is the definition.
('saddle' can be a synonym of 'burden')

'small drinks mask holy man's' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'drinks mask' becomes 'addle' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'holy man' becomes 's'.
's'+'addle'+'s'='SADDLES'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for saddles that I've seen before include "Jockeys' seats" , "Seats for horses" , "Bicycle seats" , "Riders' seats" , "Riding seats" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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