Crossword Genius

Toes in a terrible state (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

estonia

'state' is the definition.
(Estonia is a country)

'toes in a terrible' is the wordplay.
'terrible' indicates anagramming the letters.
'toes'+'in'+'a'='toesina'
'toesina' with letters rearranged gives 'ESTONIA'.

(Other definitions for estonia that I've seen before include "So eat in poorly on the Baltic Sea" , "European country, capital Tallinn" , "'So eat in here in Tallinn, say (7)'" , "Land" , "European republic, became independent again in 1991" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app