Speechless and depressed; make it simpler! (4,4)

I believe the answer is:

dumb down

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'it simpler' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.

'speechless and depressed' is the wordplay.
'speechless' becomes 'dumb' (synonyms).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'depressed' becomes 'down' (synonyms).
'dumb'+'down'='DUMB DOWN'

'make' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dumb down that I've seen before include "Make less intellectual" , "make things easier" , "make things simpler" , "Lower one's intellectual standards" , "Make less intellectually challenging" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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