Bed left in smooth state once (8)
I believe the answer is:
scotland
'state once' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both locations as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'bed left in smooth' is the wordplay.
'bed' becomes 'cot' (cot is a type of bed).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'smooth' becomes 'sand' (sanding is a kind of smoothing).
'cot'+'l'='cotl'
'cotl' put into 'sand' is 'SCOTLAND'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for scotland that I've seen before include "Alban" , "Land of clans and kilts" , "Tod's clan comes form the northern country" , "The thistle is its emblem" , "Clans dot the country, oddly" .)