Spoke highly of a seeded man (5)

I believe the answer is:

piped

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'spoke highly' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with communicating as well as being past participle verbs.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'a seeded man' is the wordplay.
'a seeded' becomes 'pip' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'man' becomes 'ed' (short for Edward).
'pip'+'ed'='PIPED'

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for piped that I've seen before include "Transported by Tube" , "Taken from place to place, as water < music" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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