Etonian getting mixed up with S&M is a state (9)
I believe the answer is:
minnesota
'a state' is the definition.
(US state)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for minnesota that I've seen before include "American state, capital St Paul" , "North Star State" , "Nominates the strange state" , "Nominates for American state" , "Nominates, oddly, the US state" .)