Crossword Genius

Laid low by a bad boy (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

felled

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

'laid low' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?

'a bad boy' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'boy' could be 'ed' (short for Edward) and 'ed' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'fell' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'by' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for felled that I've seen before include "Cut down a tree" , "Knocked down" , "Chopped down - with a single blow?" , "Cut down, trees say" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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