Crossword Genius

Gradually have quiet lunch, say (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

piecemeal

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'gradually' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'quiet lunch say' is the wordplay.
'quiet' becomes 'piece' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'lunch say' becomes 'meal' (lunch is a kind of meal).
'piece'+'meal'='PIECEMEAL'

'have' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for piecemeal that I've seen before include "A bit at a time" , "by degrees" , "a little at a time" , "Unsystematically" , "step by step" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
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