Crossword Genius

Stones priest and man following decline (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pebbles

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

'stones' is the definition.
(pebble is a kind of stone)

'priest and man following decline' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'priest' could be 'p' (ecclesiastical abbreviation) and 'p' is found in the answer.
'man' could be 'les' and 'les' is present in the answer.
'decline' could be 'ebb' (ebb is a kind of decline) and 'ebb' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pebbles that I've seen before include "Small round stones, as on beach" , "Small, smooth, rounded rocks" , "Small rounded stones" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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