Crossword Genius

Rings American being cruel (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

callous

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

'rings american' is the wordplay.
'rings' becomes 'callo' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'callo'+'us'='CALLOUS'

'being' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for callous that I've seen before include "Insensitive, cruel" , "Cruel and unfeeling" , "Not feeling" , "Cruel or unsympathetic" , "Hard-hearted" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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