Confectionery and dessert coming before the joint (9)
I believe the answer is:
sweetmeat
'confectionery' is the definition.
(I know that sweetmeat is a type of confectionery)
'dessert coming before the joint' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'dessert' could be 'sweet' (synonyms) and 'sweet' is found in the answer.
'before' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is located in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ma' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'and' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sweetmeat that I've seen before include "Food item with sugar" , "Former item of confectionery" , "Sugary confection" , "Old item of confectionery" , "fancy cake?" .)