Crossword Genius

Officer fired from the army for feeding this to the locals (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

colcannon

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

'the army for feeding this to the locals' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'officer fired' is the wordplay.
'officer' becomes 'col' (short for colonel).
'fired' becomes 'cannon' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'col'+'cannon'='COLCANNON'

'from' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for colcannon that I've seen before include "fed to the Irish?" , "Vegetarian dish for 19 [PADRAIC]" , "Traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage" , "Food for Irish" , "plate for Seamus?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.