Cap annual bribe, criminal's in a dreadful state? (6,8)
I believe the answer is:
banana republic
'state?' is the definition.
(I know that banana republic is a type of state)
'cap annual bribe criminal's' is the wordplay.
'criminal's' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'criminal' mean this).
'cap'+'annual'+'bribe'='capannualbribe'
'capannualbribe' anagrammed gives 'BANANA REPUBLIC'.
'in a dreadful' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for banana republic that I've seen before include "weak state" , "Small politically unstable country dominated by foreign companies" , "state precariously run" , "Small state dependant on one export" .)