Religious Violation is one of those crossword clues that walks the line between the obvious and the frustrating. It recently popped up in The Sun Two Speed Crossword on April 27, 2025, tucked into the coffee-time side of the puzzle, with its cryptic twin reading: Wise to hide conservative anger in heresy. Now that’s a mouthful.
To be fair, the coffee-time clue was doing you a favour. It’s a straightforward definition, and even if you blank on the answer at first, you’re bound to circle back to it once the grid starts filling out. But the cryptic version? It has just enough misdirection to keep you spinning your wheels, unless you know what to look for. Whether you’re here for speed or for sport, we’ve answered and explained both clues just below to get you to the right answer.
Religious Violation Crossword Answer
The answer you’re looking for to solve the “Religious Violation” coffee-time clue or the cryptic “Wise to hide Conservative anger in heresy” from the Two Speed Crossword is SACRILEGE, a nine-letter word that fits both clue styles. While SACRILEGE nails the definition clue, don’t overlook SIN as a strong contender in other puzzles. If the clue appears in plural, you’re likely looking at SINS instead.
Let’s start with the definition. Sacrilege refers to violating or showing disrespect toward something sacred, which is why it fits the clue straight away. And while sin works too, sacrilege has a broader scope. It doesn’t always have to be religious as it can be cultural or symbolic but generally anything held in high reverence that’s been desecrated or defiled.
Now for the cryptic. “Wise” gives you SAGE, and “to hide” is your anagram indicator. “Conservative” becomes C, and “anger” can be read as RILE. Toss all those together and you get an anagram of SAGECRILE, which unscrambles neatly into SACRILEGE. The phrase “in heresy” likely serves as the definition here, tying it all together.
