Berating daughter, not grand in dress that's far from formal (8,4)
I believe the answer is:
dressing down
'berating' is the definition.
('dress down' can be a synonym of 'berate')
'daughter not grand in dress that's far from formal' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'daughter' could be 'd' (genealogical abbreviation) and 'd' is located in the answer.
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is located in the answer.
'grand' could be 'g' (G is short for grand as in a thousand) and 'g' is found in the answer.
'in' is found in the answer.
an anagram of 'dress' is 'ressd' which is present in the left over letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dressing down that I've seen before include "telling-off" , "using low gear?" , "rebuke" , "Severe scolding (in old clothes?)" , "Wearing jeans possibly" .)