Crossword Genius

Cold northern state has nothing on California (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

canada

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'cold northern state' is the definition.
'Canada' can be an answer for 'state' (Canada is an example). I'm not sure about the 'cold northern' bit.

'nothing on california' is the wordplay.
'nothing' becomes 'nada' (synonyms).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'california' becomes 'ca' (abbreviation).
'nada' after 'ca' is 'CANADA'.

'has' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for canada that I've seen before include "World's second-largest country by area" , "Commonwealth country" , "See 6 Down" , "Maple leaf country" , "New World country" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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