Crossword Genius

Showed grief at serene abbot's ruin (4,4,6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

beat ones breast

'showed grief' is the definition.

'at serene abbot's ruin' is the wordplay.
'ruin' is an anagram indicator.
'at'+'serene'+'abbots'='atsereneabbots'
'atsereneabbots' with letters rearranged gives 'BEAT ONES BREAST'.

(Another definition for beat ones breast that I've seen is " show remorse".)

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app