Liberal American backed attempt with passion (6)

I believe the answer is:

sultry

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'liberal american backed attempt with passion' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'liberal american backed attempt' is the wordplay.
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'american' becomes 'US' (United States).
'backed' is a reversal indicator.
'attempt' becomes 'try' (synonyms).
'l'+'us'='lus'
'lus' backwards is 'sul'.
'sul'+'try'='SULTRY'

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(Other definitions for sultry that I've seen before include "Such weather is hot and oppressive" , "Oppressively humid - sensual" , "Oppressively hot and humid" , "Close -- sensual" , "Sweltering, close and oppressive" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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