The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 1 plus 3 plus 3 letter word I ASK YOU
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
I
A
S
K
Y
O
U
More clues leading to the result I ASK YOU
- Philistine, a broadcaster with the university? Unbelievable!
- Exclamation of annoyance as interrogator clarifies roles?
- Debtor’s note includes a one-time Murdoch company that’s hard to credit
- Critically shocked expression after playing short suit okay
- I like jelly essentially sour – do you agree?
- A media giant breaking promise of repayment, what a surprise!
- Pasquale making demands of solver? It hardly seems believable!
- The solver must respond with an answer? How ridiculous!
- Arch-playmate Eve’s back’s out, chit trapping the nerve!
- Fashion is okay with university — heaven help us!
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "what a surprise" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case what a surprise = i ask you.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.