Crossword Genius

A very strong creep stalking church singer (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chaffinch

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

'singer' is the definition.
(chaffinch is a kind of birdanimal)

'a very strong creep stalking church' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is found in the answer.
'strong' could be 'ff' and 'ff' is found in the answer.
'creep' could be 'inch' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'inch' is found within the answer.
'church' could be 'ch' (common abbreviation) and 'ch' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chaffinch that I've seen before include "flier" , "Small European songbird" , "Common bird" , "European bird with black and white wings" , "Garden bird" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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