Crossword Genius

She earned about a grand in America (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

madge

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'she' is the definition.

'earned about a grand in america' is the wordplay.
'earned' becomes 'made' ('make' can be a synonym of 'earn').
'about' indicates putting letters inside.
'a grand in america' becomes 'g' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'made' placed around 'g' is 'MADGE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for madge that I've seen before include "girl" , "Madonna's nickname" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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