Spotted a pastry without a topping (7)
I believe the answer is:
piebald
'spotted' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'a pastry without a topping' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'pastry' could be 'pie' (pie is a kind of pastry) and 'pie' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for piebald that I've seen before include "Motley" , "(Of horse) patched with two colours" , "(Of an animal) marked in two different colours" , "Having contrasting patches of colour" , "Marked in two different colours, especially black and white" .)