Distant bloke Methuselah is first to applaud lines one's penned? (4,6)
I believe the answer is:
farm animal
'one's penned?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'distant bloke methuselah is first to applaud lines' is the wordplay.
'distant' becomes 'far' (similar in meaning).
'bloke' becomes 'man' (informal term for a man).
'methuselah is' becomes 'I'm' (where the crossword setter is 'Methuselah').
'first to' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'applaud lines' is 'al'.
'far'+'man'+'im'+'al'='FARM ANIMAL'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for farm animal that I've seen is " Cow, sheep or chicken?".)