How to deal with a surprise (5)
I believe the answer is:
treat
'surprise' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'how to deal with a' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
The remaining letters 'tret' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for treat that I've seen before include "Deal with - delightful surprise" , "Tend" , "Pay for someone else's enjoyment" , "Pay for - minister to - deal with" , "Medicate" .)