Crossword Genius

See females in America showing restraint (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cuffs

'restraint' is the definition.
(cuffs is a kind of restraint)

'see females in america' is the wordplay.
'see' becomes 'C' (the word for the letter, according to Chambers).
'females' becomes 'ff' (the abbreviation for female repeated).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'america' becomes 'US' (United States).
'ff' inserted into 'us' is 'uffs'.
'c'+'uffs'='CUFFS'

'showing' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for cuffs that I've seen before include "bracelets" , "Arresting items" , "Strikes with an open hand" , "Hits" , "boxes" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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