The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word STAGGER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
T
A
G
G
E
R
More clues leading to the result STAGGER
- Shock spread over time
- Surprise when male clothing excludes article
- Climbing rodents fed with form of protein shake
- Only men, lifting, say, end of todger, act like a piss artist
- Amaze old fellow swallowing bit of gristle
- They label back to front to confound
- Walk unsteadily at different times
- Flounder as man at party, finally upsetting top lady
- Surprise when celebrity is found to have carried bomb around
- Shock in King George after male nurses start to embrace
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Surprise" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case surprise = stagger.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.
What does STAGGER mean?
STAGGER noun- An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion
- A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling
- Bewilderment; perplexity.
- The spacing out of various actions over time.
- The difference in circumference between the left and right tires on a racing vehicle. It is used on oval tracks to make the car turn better in the corners.
- The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.
- Sway unsteadily, reel, or totter.
- Doubt, waver, be shocked.
- Have multiple groups doing the same thing in a uniform fashion, but starting at different, evenly-spaced, times or places (attested from 1856).