Crossword Genius

He lacks any saving virtues (11)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

spendthrift

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

'he lacks any saving virtues' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'he lacks any saving' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'he' could be 'pen' and 'pen' is found within the answer.
'saving' could be 'thrift' (I've seen this before) and 'thrift' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for spendthrift that I've seen before include "Irresponsible spender" , "Squanderer" , "Irresponsible user of money" , "Prodigal" , "Extravagant" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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