Uniting the States
by Lori Zlatkin in GAMES
1. marizipan nut -- ALMOND
2. amusement center -- ARCADE
3. mysterious -- ARCANE
4. zinc oxide lotion -- CALAMINE
5. honesty -- CANDOR
6. anthracite source -- COAL MINE
7. soft drink (hyphenated) -- COCA-COLA
8. supersonic craft -- CONCORDE
9. bird of prey -- CONDOR
10. break a cipher -- DECODE
11. ridicule -- DERIDE
12. abloom -- FLORAL
13. lacking coastlines -- INLAND
14. shrine -- MEMORIAL
15. psychological ploy -- MIND GAME
16. bee's quaff -- NECTAR
17. Anderson of Baywatch -- PAMELA
18. French Mathematician -- PASCAL
Here is a list of the two-letter abbreviations of the 50 states:
AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID
IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO
MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA
RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY