Crossword Genius

When speaking, remained sober (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

staid

'sober' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'when speaking remained' is the wordplay.
'when speaking' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'remained' becomes 'stayed' ('stay' can be a synonym of 'remain').
'stayed' sounds like 'STAID'.

(Other definitions for staid that I've seen before include "Sedate, unadventurous" , "Grave, sedate" , "Stuffy, traditional" , "Sober, grave" , "Conventional (character)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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