Seriously and sorely upset about a bad start (7)
I believe the answer is:
soberly
'seriously' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'sorely upset about a bad start' is the wordplay.
'upset' indicates an anagram.
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'start' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'bad' is 'b'.
'sorely' anagrammed gives 'soerly'.
'soerly' placed around 'b' is 'SOBERLY'.
'and' acts as a link.
(Another definition for soberly that I've seen is " In a non-alcoholic manner.".)
I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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