Crossword Genius

Action of a lowdown, gutless cowboy (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

agency

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

'action' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'a lowdown gutless cowboy' is the wordplay.
'a lowdown' becomes 'agen' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'gutless' means to remove the middle letters.
'cowboy' with its centre removed is 'cy'.
'agen'+'cy'='AGENCY'

'of' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for agency that I've seen before include "Type of business" , "Business that conducts business on behalf of others" , "Bureau; instrumentality" , "Office or business of one who does business for others" , "Through which something is accomplished" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app