Crossword Genius

Say, hardly fast food! (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sloe

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

'say' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how one could define the other.

'hardly fast food' is the wordplay.
'hardly fast' becomes 'slo' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'food' becomes 'E' (E is an example).
'slo'+'e'='SLOE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sloe that I've seen before include "Fruit of the blackthorn does't sound fast" , "Blackthorn, used in making a type of gin" , "Fruit often used for gin" , "Sour blue-black fruit" , "Fruit steeped in gin to make a liqueur" .)

I've seen this clue in The Mirror.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app