Spell "fish" the American way? (8)
I believe the answer is:
turnpike
'american way?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'spell fish' is the wordplay.
'spell' becomes 'turn' (synonyms).
'fish' becomes 'pike' (pike is a kind of fish).
'turn'+'pike'='TURNPIKE'
'the' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for turnpike that I've seen before include "Toll road (hist.)" , "Old gates across a road to prevent passage until a toll was paid" , "way in the US" , "where one pays one's way" , "American highway" .)