Crossword Genius

Depressed by loss of feathers? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

downcast

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

'depressed' is the definition.
(I know that depressed can be written as downcast)

'by loss of feathers?' is the wordplay.
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'loss of' becomes 'cast' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'feathers?' becomes 'down' (down can mean bird feathers).
'cast' put after 'down' is 'DOWNCAST'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for downcast that I've seen before include "Sad" , "directed towards ground" , "Low in spirits" , "Dejected and discouraged" , "Depressed - looking at the floor?" .)

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