Crossword Genius

American attempt to accept one Hispanic friend (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

amigo

'hispanic friend' is the definition.
('friend' in Spanish)

'american attempt to accept one' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'Am' (abbreviation in some contexts).
'attempt' becomes 'go' (go is a kind of attempt).
'to accept' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'am'+'go'='amgo'
'amgo' placed around 'i' is 'AMIGO'.

(Other definitions for amigo that I've seen before include "friend from Barcelona" , "friend in Uruguay" , "in a foreign land, my friend?" , "A Spanish pal" , "Friend in Spanish-speaking areas" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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