Crossword Genius

Very curious the way American said last letter was missing (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

nosy

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

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

'way american said last letter was missing' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'way' could be 's' (Compass direction - South) and 's' is found in the answer.
'letter' could be 'y' (Y is a letter of the alphabet) and 'y' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'no' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for nosy that I've seen before include "Inquisitive in nasal manner" , "Meddlesome" , "Fragrant" , "Showing too much curiosity about people's affairs" , "Inclined to poke into other people's affairs" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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