A short dress, mother, to say the least (7)
'the least' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'a short dress mother' is the wordplay.
'a short dress' becomes 'mini' (I've seen this before**).
'mother' becomes 'mum' (mum is a kind of mother).
'mini'+'mum'='MINIMUM'
'to say' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for minimum that I've seen before include "Least recorded value" , "Lower limit" , "Lowest value" , "The least of smallest amount possible" , "Nadir" .)
But I've got no explanation for this one! Could you help me understand?
(Other definitions for minima that I've seen before include "Least quantities" , "Smallest possible amounts" , "Stevenson's mutable doctor" , "lowest possible degrees" , "lot of extremely low points" .)