Take off the hard stuff and make unhappy? (8)
I believe the answer is:
dispirit
'make unhappy?' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with human feelings as well as being verbs in their base form.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dispirit that I've seen before include "Weigh" , "Cause to feel low or depressed" , "Discourage" , "Deject, dishearten" , "Make hopeless" .)