Crossword Genius

Snapped after apartment cleaned out (4,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

flat broke

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

'cleaned out' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'snapped after apartment' is the wordplay.
'snapped' becomes 'broke' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'after' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'apartment' becomes 'flat' (synonyms).
'broke' after 'flat' is 'FLAT BROKE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for flat broke that I've seen is " cleaned out".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph and The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.