Patchy dish unadorned (7)

I believe the answer is:

piebald

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'patchy' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'dish unadorned' is the wordplay.
'dish' becomes 'pie' (I've seen this before).
'unadorned' becomes 'bald' (I've seen this before).
'pie'+'bald'='PIEBALD'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for piebald that I've seen before include "(Of horse) black and white in patches" , "Marked in two different colours, especially black and white" , "Two-coloured (horse)" , "Two-toned" , "(Of horse) patched with two colours" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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