Crossword Genius

Nearly all clap ape surprisingly singing like this? (1,8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

a cappella

'singing like this?' is the definition.

'nearly all clap ape surprisingly' is the wordplay.
'nearly' means to remove the last letter.
'surprisingly' is an anagram indicator.
'all' with its last letter removed is 'al'.
'al'+'clap'+'ape'='alclapape'
'alclapape' with letters rearranged gives 'A CAPPELLA'.

(Other definitions for a cappella that I've seen before include "not accompanied" , "Unaccompanied singing" , "type of singing" , "Sung without instrumental accompaniment" , "Palace pal singing without musical accompaniment" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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