Crossword Genius

A learner meeting a couple of graduates somewhere in America (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

alabama

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'somewhere in america' is the definition.
(US state)

'a learner meeting a couple of graduates' is the wordplay.
'a couple of graduates' means two substitutions for 'graduate'.
'a learner meeting' becomes 'ala' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'graduate' becomes 'BA' (someone with a Bachelor of Arts degree).
'graduate' becomes 'MA' (abbreviation for Master of Arts).
'ala'+'ba'+'ma'='ALABAMA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for alabama that I've seen before include "US state, capital Montgomery" , "American state, capital Montgomery (7)" , "SE US state" , "US state west of Georgia" , "US state in which Birmingham is situated" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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