Crossword Genius

Catches up with an old Greek (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spartan

'old greek' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'catches up with an' is the wordplay.
'catches' becomes 'traps' (trapping is a kind of catching).
'up' is a reversal indicator (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'traps' back-to-front is 'spart'.
'spart'+'an'='SPARTAN'

(Other definitions for spartan that I've seen before include "Of conditions, harsh and lacking comforts" , "Disciplined person" , "Frugal" , "Plain" , "Without comforts" .)

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