Crossword Genius

Tabloid (American) sent up GI's sweetheart (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sugar

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'gi's sweetheart' is the definition.
'sugar' can be an answer for 'sweetheart' (thesaurus). I am not certain of the 'gi's' bit.

'tabloid american sent up' is the wordplay.
'tabloid' becomes 'rag' ('rag' can be a synonym of 'tabloid').
'american' becomes 'us'.
'sent up' says the letters should be written backwards.
'rag'+'us'='ragus'
'ragus' back-to-front is 'SUGAR'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sugar that I've seen before include "Make more palatable" , "Term of affection" , "Sucrose" , "Damn" , "flattery" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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