Crossword Genius

Bud sent up excellent state (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dubai

'state' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'bud sent up excellent' is the wordplay.
'sent up' is a reversal indicator.
'excellent' becomes 'ai' (resembles 'A1', old-fashioned term for excellent).
'bud' reversed gives 'dub'.
'dub'+'ai'='DUBAI'

(Other definitions for dubai that I've seen before include "Gulf territory" , "One of the UAE and its capital" , "Gulf city/state" , "capital and port" , "Persian Gulf state" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun.
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