Crossword Genius

Blue feathers discarded? (4,2,3,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

down in the dumps

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

'blue' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'feathers discarded?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'feathers' could be 'down' (down can mean bird feathers) and 'down' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for down in the dumps that I've seen before include "depressed" , "Blue" , "Scavengers may be" , "feathers among the rubbish?" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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