Spotted condition of male lessens ingesting pill at last (7)
I believe the answer is:
measles
'spotted condition' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both states of affairs as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'male lessens ingesting pill at last' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'lessens' becomes 'eases' (I've seen this in another clue).
'ingesting' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'at last' suggests the final letters.
The last letter of 'pill' is 'l'.
'eases' placed around 'l' is 'easles'.
'm'+'easles'='MEASLES'
'of' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for measles that I've seen before include "Childhood malady" , "Highly contagious viral disease" , "Morbilli is technical term for this illness" , "Children's disease with red spots" , "Ailment" .)