### Clue: Contentious young woman making first appearance on American board (9)
### Answer: DEBATABLE 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Contentious
 DEB(short for "debutante", a young woman making her first formal appearance in fashionable society) **placed above**(on, in a down clue) A(abbrev. for "American") + TABLE(board/ regular meals provided in a place of accommodation).