Crossword Genius

Poles like following King Arthur's first state (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

kansas

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

'poles like following king arthur's first' is the wordplay.
'poles' becomes 'NS' (North and South poles).
'like' becomes 'as'.
'following' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'king' becomes 'K' (abbreviation for king in chess).
'arthur's first' becomes 'a' (1st letter of 'arthur').
'ns'+'as'='nsas'
'k'+'a'='ka'
'nsas' after 'ka' is 'KANSAS'.

(Other definitions for kansas that I've seen before include "The Sunflower US state" , "''Toto, I've a feeling we're not in ... anymore'' (Dorothy in Wizard of Oz)" , "Central US state" , "US state, joined 1861" , "American state, capital Topeka" .)

I've seen this clue in the Best For Puzzles.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.