What does the cryptic crossword clue "Sound unit last month initially avoided calumny (7)" mean?

The definition is "Sound unit". The wordplay uses a charade (building blocks). DEC (synonym="DEC") + IBEL (synonym=""calumny" with its intial avoided") = DECIBEL; definition: "Sound unit" The answer is DECIBEL.

Sound unit last month initially avoided calumny (7)

Guardian Cryptic #29202 | 18 Down | 2023-10-16 flower

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