Crossword Genius

When the doctor got up, he was crusty (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

morose

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'when the' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'doctor got up he was crusty' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'doctor' could be 'mo' (medical officer) and 'mo' is present in the answer.
'got up' could be 'rose' (past tense of 'raise') and 'rose' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for morose that I've seen before include "grouchy" , "Sullen and ill-tempered" , "blue" , "Sullen and gloomy" , "Down in the dumps" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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