My friend Mary used the word at 21-across and I told her I'd put it in a crossword puzzle. I'm pretty sure she thought I was joking. Hi Mary! I wasn't joking!
This puzzle has two sets of clues, easier and harder. I'm not good enough at judging difficulty to say if the harder set is actually "hard" but it is definitely hardER than the easier set (which was intended to be quite easy). Thanks to
Boswords and
Brooke and
Mollie for this "multiple sets of clues" trend, which I adore, if only because it allows me to actually finish Brooke and Mollie's puzzles. (Are other people doing this too? Those are the names that come to mind for me.)