Dispirited and spitting feathers, perhaps? (4,2,3,5)
I believe the answer is:
down in the mouth
'dispirited' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'spitting feathers perhaps?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'feathers' could be 'down' (down can mean bird feathers) and 'down' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'and' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for down in the mouth that I've seen before include "Disheartened" , "dejected?" , "Where tall orthodontists may look" , "then spitting feathers?" , "Unhappy (colloq.)" .)