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Meat and a lot of fancy food as a prize (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hamper

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'lot of fancy food as a prize' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'meat and a' is the wordplay.
'meat' becomes 'ham' (ham is a kind of meat).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a' becomes 'per' (eg 'one a day' means 'one per day').
'ham'+'per'='HAMPER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hamper that I've seen before include "Obstruct or delay with food basket" , "Obstruct with picnic basket" , "Kind of food basket, maybe for picnic" , "Prevent free movement" , "basket case?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times.
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