Extreme examples of curry powder, given to us for island state (6)

I believe the answer is:

cyprus

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'state' is the definition.
(I know that Cyprus is a state)

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for cyprus that I've seen before include "Large East Mediterranean island" , "Partitioned Med. island" , "Aphrodite's island" , "Mediterranean country, capital Nicosia" , "Othello island" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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