Crossword Genius

Pastry Lee Mack shortly demolished, bit by bit (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

piecemeal

'bit by bit' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'pastry lee mack shortly demolished' is the wordplay.
'pastry' becomes 'pie' (pie is a kind of pastry).
'shortly' means to remove the last letter.
'demolished' indicates an anagram.
'lee'+'mack'='leemack'
'leemack' with its last letter taken away is 'leemac'.
'leemac' with letters rearranged gives 'cemeal'.
'pie'+'cemeal'='PIECEMEAL'

(Other definitions for piecemeal that I've seen before include "A bit at a time" , "Claim epee in gradual unsystematic way" , "by degrees" , "Bit by bit; unsystematic" , "a little at a time" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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