Crossword Genius

States dweller finds a jerk with ease (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

yankee

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

'states dweller' is the definition.
'Yankee' can be an answer for 'dweller' (Yankee is an example). I'm unsure of the 'states' bit.

'a jerk with ease' is the wordplay.
'a jerk' becomes 'yank' (I've seen this in another clue).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'ease' becomes 'ee' (I've seen this in other clues).
'yank'+'ee'='YANKEE'

'finds' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for yankee that I've seen before include "Radio codeword for Y" , "Y in radio alphabet" , "Colloquial American, a doodle dandy" , "American, perhaps a doodle dandy" , "New Englander - type of bet" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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.