Unusual to reveal lift (8)
I believe the answer is:
elevator
'lift' is the definition.
(I know that lift can be written as elevator)
'unusual to reveal' is the wordplay.
'unusual' indicates anagramming the letters.
'to'+'reveal'='toreveal'
'toreveal' with letters rearranged gives 'ELEVATOR'.
(Other definitions for elevator that I've seen before include "An American lift - going up?" , "it's uplifting" , "Lifting device" , "US lift" , "what makes flight unnecessary" .)