Crossword Genius

Letters awaiting despatch to a colonial settlement (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

outpost

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'settlement' is the definition.
(outpost is a kind of settlement)

'letters awaiting despatch to a colonial' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'letters' could be 'post' (I've seen this before) and 'post' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'out' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for outpost that I've seen before include "isolated stronghold" , "Outlying settlement" , "Remote military site" , "Distant office, settlement" , "A distant branch or settlement" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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