After starting of quickly with AFTER (Caption in a comparison ad), then ELLE (Montly with a palindromic name), I got nothing else until I guessed SANAA (Mideast capital), which led me to guess bAked for "Like some teenagers and pasta" (SAUCY), and things slowed right down after that.
I won't go any further into the details of my struggle, but instead will cut right to the good stuff. "Wind up alone?" was a very tricky clue for FLUTESOLO wasn't it? And "Fuzzy exotic pet" had me thinking of chinchillas, not a TARANTULA. Sheesh!
The long Downs of ISTHATATHING (Question of legitimacy) and ALOTTOUNPACK (Overwhelming and needing time for consideration) were lovely. BATARANGS (DC Comics weapons, one of which can be seen at the Smithsonian) was fun, and who doesn't like CUREDPORK (Bacon or pancetta)?
It was hilarious to see QUIETQUITTING (Trend for unengaged employees) in the middle of the grid. DISCOBALL (It makes a spin around a dance floor) was fun, and SNAKEEYES (One-sided dice?) was very sneaky!
There was a lot I didn't know (Social media influencer Addison RAE, PANAY (Philippine island that's home to Iloilo), Stephen Sondheim's "The Worst PIES in London," and more), but things came together slowly, and by the end I was ALLSMILES.
- Horace
"BAKED" for some teenagers!! Love it! I wish that *had* been the answer. I found this xword quite difficult as well, and thoroughly enjoyable.
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