Had to take ecstasy to get calmer (3,4)
I believe the answer is:
die down
'get calmer' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'had to take ecstasy' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'had' could be 'd' (in contractions e.g. 'I'd', 'you'd' etc) and 'd' is located in the answer.
'take' could be 'do' (eg taking or doing drugs) and 'do' is found within the answer.
'ecstasy' could be 'e' (informal term for the drug) and 'e' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for die down that I've seen before include "Become less loud/strong" , "For ease" , "Become less loud" , "Become less intense" , "Become progressively weaker" .)
