Crossword Genius

American spared by virus with spirit intact (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

virgin

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

'intact' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'american spared by virus with spirit' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'spirit' could be 'gin' (alcoholic spirit) and 'gin' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'vir' 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 virgin that I've seen before include "Not yet used" , "Not yet used/exploited" , "Unsullied" , "Chaste" , "Maiden" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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