Crossword Genius

Submissive American thanks flesh eating maniac at last (4,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tame cat

'submissive american' is the definition.
(US term for a submissive person)

'thanks flesh eating maniac at last' is the wordplay.
'thanks' becomes 'ta' (UK informal version of 'thank you').
'flesh' becomes 'meat' (I have seen 'Edible flesh' mean 'meat' so perhaps 'flesh' could also mean 'meat').
'eating' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'at last' indicates one should take the final letters.
The final letter of 'maniac' is 'c'.
'meat' placed around 'c' is 'mecat'.
'ta'+'mecat'='TAME CAT'

(Another definition for tame cat that I've seen is " American happy to be subordinate".)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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