Crossword Genius

Seem sad that the doctor has nothing but work (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

droop

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'seem' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their base form, I can't understand how one could define the other.

'sad that the doctor has nothing but work' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'doctor' could be 'dr' (abbreviation) and 'dr' is found within the answer.
'nothing' could be 'o' (looks like zero - 0) and 'o' is found within the answer.
'work' could be 'op' (abbreviation for opus) and 'op' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for droop that I've seen before include "Sag wearily" , "Sag downwards" , "lose heart" , "Become limp" , "Grow faint" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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