Crossword Genius

Being obsequious to American on the way out (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

toadying

'being obsequious' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'to american on the way out' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names).
'on the way out' becomes 'dying' (informal phrase meaning dying).
'to'+'a'+'dying'='TOADYING'

(Another definition for toadying that I've seen is " Obsequious".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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