Swallows and takes in the jokes I hear (7)

I believe the answer is:

ingests

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'swallows' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'in the jokes i hear' is the wordplay.
'the jokes' becomes 'jests' ('jest' can be a synonym of 'joke').
'i hear' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'jests' sounds like 'gests'.
'in'+'gests'='INGESTS'

'and takes' is the link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ingests that I've seen before include "Takes up" , "Swallows" , "Absorbs" .)

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

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