Crossword Genius

Give a greeting to surprise the workers (5,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

shake hands

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'give a greeting to' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'surprise the workers' is the wordplay.
'surprise' becomes 'shake' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'the workers' becomes 'hands' (hand is a kind of worker).
'shake'+'hands'='SHAKE HANDS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for shake hands that I've seen before include "Finalise agreement" , "Greet" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.
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