Before marriage was she an American beauty queen? (6)
I believe the answer is:
missus
'beauty queen?' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'before marriage was she an american' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'marriage' could be 'm' (abbreviation in official records) and 'm' is present in the answer.
'was' could be 'is' (being is a kind of being) and 'is' is found in the answer.
'american' could be 'us' (United States) and 'us' is present in the answer.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for missus that I've seen before include "Wife (informal)" , "trouble and strife" , "Wife (colloquial)" , "The old lady" , "Dutch American" .)