Crossword Genius

Leaves the pieces after last bit of shade (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

departs

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'leaves' is the definition.
(departing is a kind of leaving)

'the pieces after last bit of shade' is the wordplay.
'the pieces' becomes 'parts' ('part' can be a synonym of 'piece').
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'last bit of shade' becomes 'de' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'parts' put after 'de' is 'DEPARTS'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for departs that I've seen before include "Quits" , "Does runner" , "Goes away" , "Goes, leaves" .)

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