The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 2 plus 5 letter word EN MASSE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
E
N
M
A
S
S
E
More clues leading to the result EN MASSE
- In a group coming from France
- Endless, awful sameness, as a whole
- Arrangement of names, some without order, all together
- Seems an unusual way to come together
- Seamen’s breaks together
- As one man sees changes
- Direction needed to hold ceremony all together
- Sees man in resort as one
- All together, magically, finally: ‘Open Sesame!’
- As one‘s despicably mean, small tips for servants materialise
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "as a body" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case as a body = en masse.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.