In crosswords in the NYT, the US most often is used not to mean the nation but rather the we that is the pronoun. The hint tends to play on words and therefore the answer is usually an item concerning a group of people and not America. US puzzles of NYT have their basis on the indirect meanings, and therefore, the US may be used to refer to ours, we, or other related grammatical clues. Never ignore the type of clue to have the proper interpretation.