Starts telling us Father Eliot clumps (5)
I believe the answer is:
tufts
'clumps' is the definition.
(tuft is a kind of clump)
'starts telling us father eliot' is the wordplay.
'starts' suggests taking the first letters.
'eliot' becomes 'ts' (TS Eliot).
The first letters of 'telling us father' is 'tuf'.
'tuf'+'ts'='TUFTS'
(Other definitions for tufts that I've seen before include "Bunches of threads or feathers" , "Bunches of hair or grass" , "Bunches of hairs" , "Clumps" .)