Crossword Genius

Operating system's way of working is stifling small, gradual assimilation (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

osmosis

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

'operating system's way of working is stifling small' is the wordplay.
'operating system's' becomes 'os' ('OS' can be a synonym of 'operating system').
'way of working' becomes 'mo' (modus operandi).
'stifling' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters get stifled or contained).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'mo'+'is'='mois'
'mois' going around 's' is 'mosis'.
'os'+'mosis'='OSMOSIS'

(Other definitions for osmosis that I've seen before include "absorbing process" , "Becoming absorbed" , "Diffusions of liquids" , "picking up slowly" , "Large shopping area" .)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.
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