Thanks! The meta puzzle idea is good, but I want people to be able to see the comments once they solve if they want to, and I think the answer will be obviously correct once the title is solved :)
The idea of 4A is so good and clever, but I'm not sure what "off" is doing. I think it's more that it's ONLY their heads. 5A's definition is outstanding.
Does "the gossip" work as an anagrind in 1D? Also, "await cautiously" works but "a wait" might be going too far in 3D, but these are neat ideas!
Thanks for solving and for the feedback! 4A's "off" is a bit sketchy, I just liked the clue too much to give it up :) In 1D "gossip" is intended as the anagrind with "the" just being a connector, and similarly in 3D "wait cautiously" is the definition and "a" is a connector. I'm working on having more natural-sounding clues which is why they're there, but I could definitely try using less of these connectors if it's confusing when solving.
There are many schools of thought about cryptic grammar, so you choose whichever one works/sounds best for you. Personally, I would have gone with something like "Wait cautiously for produce," where "for" is a linking word between definition A and definition B, but there are people who'd argue against "for" as inelegant. At the end of the day, I'm with you that a natural-sounding clue is well worth a stretch or two. :)