Soprano stripped off mason's gear (5)
I believe the answer is:
apron
'mason's gear' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'soprano stripped off' is the wordplay.
'stripped' means to look at the middle letters (outside letters removed).
'off' is an anagram indicator.
The middle of 'soprano' is 'opran'.
'opran' is an anagram of 'APRON'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for apron that I've seen before include "Extension of stage in front of curtain" , "item of protective clothing" , "Protective cover" , "Protective garment in kitchen" , "Projecting stage" .)