American sailor is first in desert (4)
I believe the answer is:
gobi
'desert' is the definition.
(Gobi is an example)
'american sailor is first' is the wordplay.
'american sailor' becomes 'gob' (gob is a kind of sailor. I am not sure about the 'american' bit.).
'is first' becomes 'i' (I in Roman numerals eg Elizabeth I).
'gob'+'i'='GOBI'
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gobi that I've seen before include "Large desert plateau of southern Mongolia and northern China" , "Mongolian/Chinese desert" , "Large, mainly Mongolian, desert" , "Arid region in central Asia, and 38 across" , "Desert in east Asia" .)