Crossword Genius

Ordered diet containing a couple of nuts at first? Mean! (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

intend

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

'mean' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'ordered diet containing a couple of nuts at first?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'at' could be 'in' and 'in' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'tend' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for intend that I've seen before include "Tinned (anag.)" , "Plan, propose" , "Mean (to do something)" , "Signify" , "Purport" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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