Crossword Genius

Lumpy son, unfortunate, requiring injection of energy (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

shapeless

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

'lumpy' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?

'son unfortunate requiring injection of energy' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'son' could be 'ss' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'ss' is found in the answer.
'energy' could be 'pe' (P.E. is an example) and 'pe' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'shale' 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).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for shapeless that I've seen before include "Amorphous" , "Lacking definite form" , "Without definite form" , "unattractive to look at?" , "unstructured" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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.