Cold American greeting a person many protected (9)

I believe the answer is:

cushioned

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'protected' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe you can see a link between them that I don't see?

'cold american greeting a person many' is the wordplay.
'cold' becomes 'c' (eg on taps).
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'greeting' becomes 'hi' (hi is a kind of greeting).
'a person' becomes 'one'.
'many' becomes 'd'.
'c'+'us'+'hi'+'one'+'d'='CUSHIONED'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cushioned that I've seen before include "given protection" , "Softened the effect of" , "protected from impact" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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