Scolding daughter in early morning attire, not good? (8-4)
I believe the answer is:
dressing-down
'scolding' is the definition.
('dress down' can be a synonym of 'scold')
'daughter in early morning attire not good?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'daughter' could be 'd' (genealogical abbreviation) and 'd' is located in the answer.
'in' is found in the answer.
'not' could be 'o' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'o' is located in the answer.
'good?' could be 'g' (abbreviation) and 'g' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dressing-down that I've seen before include "Severe reprimand" , "Severe scolding (in old clothes?)" .)