Crossword Genius

Proof one's passed hummus, say, all of meal regularly put away (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

diploma

'proof one's passed' is the definition.
(proof of passing an academic qualification)

'hummus say all of meal regularly put away' is the wordplay.
'hummus say' becomes 'dip' (hummus is a type of dip).
'regularly put away' indicates alternate letters (letters removed at regular intervals).
'all'+'of'+'meal'='allofmeal'
The alternate letters of 'allofmeal' are 'loma'.
'dip'+'loma'='DIPLOMA'

(Other definitions for diploma that I've seen before include "Document conferring honour" , "Document conferring a qualification" , "What a student seeks" , "Certificate awarded by college for educational attainment" , "Certificate of achievement" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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