Crossword Genius

American icon man clues badly (5,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

uncle sam

'american icon' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'man clues badly' is the wordplay.
'badly' is an anagram indicator.
'man'+'clues'='manclues'
'manclues' with letters rearranged gives 'UNCLE SAM'.

(Other definitions for uncle sam that I've seen before include "The United States" , "Cotton on" , "Clue's man? (anag)" , "America as a recruiting officer" , "US government personified" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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