Crossword Genius

Listener follows the doctor and becomes gloomy (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

drear

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

'gloomy' is the definition.
(I know that gloomy can be written as drear)

'listener follows the doctor' is the wordplay.
'listener' becomes 'ear' (body part which hears or listens).
'follows' says to put letters next to each other.
'the doctor' becomes 'Dr' (abbreviation).
'ear' after 'dr' is 'DREAR'.

'and becomes' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for drear that I've seen before include "Literarily gloomy" , "Gloomy and cheerless" , "Dull and tedious" , "Dull, bleak, depressing" , "gloomy in poem" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.