14 down
America
sticks
poor
material
in
papers
(3,6)
America sticks poor material in papers (3,6)
hints
0
checks
0
hints
The definition is at the beginning of the clue.
How the clue works
The definition is America — informally called The States, of course. Now for the wordplay: TAT (poor material, as in cheap junk) gets "stuck in" THESES (papers, as in academic documents). Pop TAT inside THESES and you get THES-TAT-ES, which gives you your answer.