Expression unravels when spoken? (6)
I believe the answer is:
phrase
'expression' is the definition.
(I know that phrase is a type of expression)
'unravels when spoken?' is the wordplay.
'unravels' becomes 'frays' (I've seen this in another clue).
'when spoken?' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'frays' sounds like 'PHRASE'.
(Other definitions for phrase that I've seen before include "Short musical passage" , "Group of words within a sentence" , "Saying" , "partial sentence" , "Short, coherent group of words" .)