Crossword Genius

Gloomy, elegy writer, from what we hear (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grey

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'gloomy' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

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(Other definitions for grey that I've seen before include "Colour of ashes" , "Aged; cloudy" , "Tom Pearce's horse" , "Ashen" , "Earl --, tea" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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