Single woman almost strict covering legs (8)
I believe the answer is:
spinster
'single woman' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'almost strict covering legs' is the wordplay.
'almost' means to remove the last letter (most of the word but not all of it).
'strict' becomes 'stern' (synonyms).
'covering' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'legs' becomes 'pins' (pin is a kind of leg).
'stern' with its final letter removed is 'ster'.
'ster' enclosing 'pins' is 'SPINSTER'.
(Other definitions for spinster that I've seen before include "Unmarried older woman" , "matchless female" , "She never married" , "One spurning union activity" , "woman like Miss Havisham" .)