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American writer about North America? A breathtaking experience (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

apnoea

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'a breathtaking experience' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'american writer about north america?' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names).
'writer' becomes 'poe' (Edgar Allan Poe).
'about' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'north' becomes 'N' (abbreviation).
'america?' becomes 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names).
'poe' enclosing 'n' is 'pnoe'.
'a'+'pnoe'+'a'='APNOEA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for apnoea that I've seen before include "Asphyxia" , "Temporary cessation of breathing, when asleep" , "choke" , "Transient cessation of breathing" , "Temporary cessation of breathing, in sleep say" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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