Crossword Genius

Dish is missing when not there (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tray

'dish' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'missing when not there' is the wordplay.
'missing' becomes 'astray' (something that's gone astray is missing).
'when' becomes 'as' (eg 'when I walked' means 'as I walked').
'not there' is a deletion indicator.
'astray' with 'as' taken away is 'TRAY'.

'is' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for tray that I've seen before include "three" , "Domestic carrier" , "Flat utensil for carrying meal" , "Shallow receptable for carrying something" , "food container" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app