Crossword Genius

American institution enthralled by PM providing chief support (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mainstay

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'chief support' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'american institution enthralled by pm' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names).
'institution' becomes 'inst' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'enthralled by' indicates putting letters inside ('enthral' can mean 'capture').
'pm' becomes 'May' (former UK prime minister Theresa May).
'a'+'inst'='ainst'
'ainst' placed within 'may' is 'MAINSTAY'.

'providing' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for mainstay that I've seen before include "chief supporter" , "Linchpin, principle support" , "Strong cable that secures a mast, chief support generally" , "Strongest support" , "Strong cable to secure mast, chief support" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.