Unstable times around capitals of Delaware and Washington or another part of the US? (7)
I believe the answer is:
midwest
'part of the us?' is the definition.
('Midwest' is part of 'us')
'unstable times around capitals of delaware and washington' is the wordplay.
'unstable' indicates anagramming the letters.
'around' indicates putting letters inside.
'capitals of' suggests taking the first letters.
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'washington' becomes 'w' (this could be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
The initial letter of 'delaware' is 'd'.
'times' with letters rearranged gives 'miest'.
'd'+'w'='dw'
'miest' enclosing 'dw' is 'MIDWEST'.
'or another' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for midwest that I've seen before include "somewhere in America" , "North central region of the United States" , "US states including Illinois" , "Area from Ohio to the Rockies" , "American region" .)