Related Clues:

• "That's a shame"
• Giving a pink slip
• Needing buoying
• Lacking mirth
• Pink-slipping
• Like McCullers' café
• Lacking joy
• Teary-eyed, perhaps
• Needing a hug, maybe
• Unlike a good excuse
• Doing a hatchet job
• In need of heartening
• Tear-jerking
• Replete with regret
• Felling