Crossword Genius

Duck left out for a meal (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tea

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'meal' is the definition.
(tea is a kind of meal)

'duck left out for a' is the wordplay.
'duck left out' becomes 'te' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'te'+'a'='TEA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tea that I've seen before include "Cha" , "Assam or Darjeeling, for example" , "TREE" , "Strangely, ate this drink" , "Perhaps Indian" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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