The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word MISSOURI
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
I
S
S
O
U
R
I
More clues leading to the result MISSOURI
- State has to avoid the ego of The Times?
- What we do carelessly in writing about an Amercan state?
- 23 which resembles vinegar in Michigan
- Young girl, topless siren
- One East German in weird elevated state
- River’s island seen on the turn into motorway
- Meal’s starter needs some sugar, I state
- Pine for our island state
- One state has turned into another
- State, and almost omit state
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Amercan state" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case amercan state = missouri.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.