Lay figure puts out a fire, as it's not much to look at (4)
I believe the answer is:
ugly
'lay' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ugly that I've seen before include "Not easy on the eye" , "Menacing" , "Monstrous" , "offensive to look at" , "Not handsome or pleasing to the eye" .)