Crossword Genius

Unusually poor gent aimed to become cheerful (2,1,4,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

in a good temper

'cheerful' is the definition.

'unusually poor gent aimed' is the wordplay.
'unusually' indicates an anagram.
'poor'+'gent'+'aimed'='poorgentaimed'
'poorgentaimed' with letters rearranged gives 'IN A GOOD TEMPER'.

'to become' is the link.

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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