Pathetic sort of meal (4)
I believe the answer is:
lame
'pathetic' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'sort of meal' is the wordplay.
'sort of' indicates an anagram.
'meal' is an anagram of 'LAME'.
(Other definitions for lame that I've seen before include "Unable to walk without difficulty" , "(Of an excuse) unconvincingly feeble" , "Limping; weak (argument)" , "Unable to walk normally" , "Limp - fabric" .)