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Casseroles, say, old and new, Vera smashed (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ovenware

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'casseroles say' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how they can define each other.

'old and new vera smashed' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'smashed' indicates anagramming the letters.
'new'+'vera'='newvera'
'newvera' is an anagram of 'venware'.
'o'+'venware'='OVENWARE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ovenware that I've seen before include "Dishes for baking/roasting" , "Casserole dishes etc" , "set of pots say?" , "casseroles perhaps" , "Casseroles, say" .)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.
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