Poorly, one way or another? (2,1,3,3)
I believe the answer is:
in a bad way
'poorly' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
(Other definitions for in a bad way that I've seen before include "how poor performers perform?" , "Suffering" , "Very poorly" , "Critical" , "Seriously ill" .)