They are not particular in a manner of speaking (12)

I believe the answer is:

generalities

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'they' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are plural nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'not particular in a manner of speaking' is the wordplay.
'not particular' becomes 'general' (I've seen this in another clue).
'in a manner of speaking' becomes 'ities' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'general'+'ities'='GENERALITIES'

'are' acts as a link.

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I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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