Crossword Genius

Party almost sounded scornful of the modern state? (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hootenanny

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

'party almost' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'sounded scornful of the modern state?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is located in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'state?' could be 'ny' (short for New York) and 'ny' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hootenanny that I've seen before include "Gathering where folk music gets played" , "Party involving folk music" , "Dance" , "Informal folk-singing performance" , "folk concert" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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