Crossword Genius

State question, enclosing note with answer (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

alaska

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

'question enclosing note with answer' is the wordplay.
'question' becomes 'ask' (asking a question).
'enclosing' is an insertion indicator.
'note' becomes 'la' (musical note as in do-re-mi).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'answer' becomes 'a' (abbreviation eg in Q and A).
'ask' placed around 'la' is 'alask'.
'alask'+'a'='ALASKA'

(Other definitions for alaska that I've seen before include "North-western US state" , "Detached US state" , "Most northerly state of America" , "cold place" , "Northmost US state" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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