Crossword Genius

Soldiers with nothing from the base? It's quite a shock (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

afro

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

'shock' is the definition.
(shock can mean a mass of hair)

'soldiers with nothing from the base? it's quite a' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'nothing' could be 'o' (O resembles 0) and 'o' is present in the answer.
'from' could be 'fr' (abbreviation) and 'fr' is located in the answer.
'a' is within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for afro that I've seen before include "Hairstyle with little thick curls" , "Hair cut" , "Hairstyle adopted by the young Michael Jackson" , "Style of haircut" , "Big hairstyle" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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