The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word DELAWARE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
D
E
L
A
W
A
R
E
More clues leading to the result DELAWARE
- Nice English will keep rules and regulations in US location
- Somewhere in America Derek gets clued up
- Escorted back, knowing where Dover is
- New leader touring a western state
- State of light, mounted and switched on
- Was head returning from conscious state?
- Guided back, leading to conscious state
- Guided the wrong way, knowing state of successful 9
- Leader touring around Washington State
- State of being guided upwards with knowledge
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "state" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case state = delaware.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.