Crossword Genius

A shade less than well (3-6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

off-colour

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

'well' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?

'a shade less than' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'shade' could be 'colour' (I've seen this before) and 'colour' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'off' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for off-colour that I've seen before include "Unwell or mildly indecent" , "Unwell or indelicate - a bit pale?" , "Not in the pink?" , "Unwell -- risque" , "Out of sorts" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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