Crossword Genius

Piers in medieval story's told to start without a meal (10,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ploughmans lunch

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

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

'piers in medieval story's told to start without a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ploughmans lunch that I've seen before include "bite to eat" , "Snack" , "meal" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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