Reportedly, a condiment that might be common (7)

I believe the answer is:

assault

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'common' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps you can see an association between them that I don't see?

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for assault that I've seen before include "Sort of course" , "raid" , "Sudden violent attack" , "Launch an attack on" , "Attack suddenly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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