| SLICEDBREAD | Food that the "best thing" is compared to, and a description of this puzzle's second parted word |
| JEWEL | The best thing is to get religious fellow elevated (5) |
| MEAL | Food that the peninsula Emir returned (4) |
| CROSSING | Wrong grid initially in puzzle -second in a row? (8,6) |
| SWORDS | Wrong grid initially in puzzle -second in a row? (8,6) |
| ACROBATICS | Jumping through hoops perhaps, bachelor fills in puzzle, second to last |
| DIVIDEDHIGHWAY | Route with lanes of opposing traffic separated by a barrier, and a description of this puzzle's fourth parted word |
| DETACHEDHOUSES | Homes that don't share walls with other homes, and a description of this puzzle's third parted word |
| CRACKEDWISE | Made sarcastic remarks, and a description of this puzzle's first parted word |
| BROKENHEART | Metaphor for great sadness, and a description of this puzzle's fifth parted word |
| TORNCURTAIN | 1966 Hitchcock film set in East Germany, and a description of this puzzle's sixth parted word |
| COHABIT | "It follows [...] that the best men must ____ with the best women in as many cases as possible and the worst with the worst in the fewest." (Plato) |
| HARDEDGED | Gritty ... and a description of this puzzle, which is also a hint to completing eight answers |
| ACUTABOVE | Superior to, and a hint to the first letters in 3-, 28- and 9- |
| ICEBREAKER | Get-to-know-you game, and a description of this puzzle's theme |
| CARTALK | NPR show from 1977 to 2021, and a description of this puzzle's theme |
| GHERKIN | A miniature pickled cucumber or a large cornichon, to whose shape a London skyscraper is compared (7) |
| CHOCOLATE | The best thing to come out of the rainforest (by way of the cacao tree) |
| WAP | 2020 No. 1 hit whose title acronym is compared to "macaroni in a pot" |
| REDUCEDFOODWASTE | The team's findings, reviewed by a 120-person advisory board, found that the best way to reduce carbon emissions? (7,4,5) |
