Home improvements cover up little — and not in a good way (8)
I believe the answer is:
dismally
'not in a good way' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'home improvements cover up little' is the wordplay.
'home improvements' becomes 'diy' (DIY is do-it-yourself work done on the home).
'cover up' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'little' becomes 'small' (synonyms).
'diy' placed around 'small' is 'DISMALLY'.
'and' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dismally that I've seen before include "not very well" , "In gloomy way" , "lacking in cheer" , "Badly" , "How one may fail" .)