A shade less well than usual? (3-6)
I believe the answer is:
off-colour
'usual?' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'a shade less well than' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'shade' could be 'colour' (I've seen this before) and 'colour' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'off' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for off-colour that I've seen before include "Informally unwell, looking pallid or somewhat indecent" , "Unwell, lacking pigment?" , "Ailing - blue" , "Slightly unwell" , "Not in the pink?" .)