Crossword Genius

Support American being consumed by shame (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sustain

'support' is the definition.
(I know that support can be written as sustain)

'american being consumed by shame' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'being consumed by' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters get consumed).
'shame' becomes 'stain' (I've seen this in other clues).
'us' inserted within 'stain' is 'SUSTAIN'.

(Other definitions for sustain that I've seen before include "Continue, prolong" , "Provide nourishment" , "Keep (something) going" , "Nurture, uphold" , "Strengthen; suffer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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