Put in the shade by a named American thug (6)
I believe the answer is:
hooded
'put in the shade by a named american thug' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'by a named american thug' is the wordplay.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'a named american' becomes 'ed' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'thug' becomes 'hood' (synonyms).
'ed' put after 'hood' is 'HOODED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hooded that I've seen before include "With head and back of the neck covered" , "Dressed in a cowl" .)