Crossword Genius

Initially, prose saying further unnecessary bits (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

padding

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

'initially prose saying further unnecessary bits' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'initially prose saying' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'saying' could be 'adding' (adding is a kind of saying) and 'adding' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'p' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for padding that I've seen is " Soft stuffing".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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