Crossword Genius

You had a late dinner we hear, to get thin (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

attenuate

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

'get thin' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'you had a late dinner we hear' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'you' could be 'u' (commonly used in online communication) and 'u' is found within the answer.
'had' could be 'ate' ('have' can mean 'eat') and 'ate' is located in the answer.
'a' is within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for attenuate that I've seen before include "Dilute" , "Slim down" , "get thin" , "become weak" , "Slender" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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