LOTS OF GOOD ONES!Simple life? AMOEBA
Focus group? CAMERACREW
Washington address MISTERPRESIDENT
Carnival ride? CRUISE
Bk. reviewers? CPAS
It's cut and dried HAY
Means of support EASEL
This puzzle was tough for me, and I enjoyed it. Some clues that I struggled with were:
Balances, e.g.: Abbr. AMTS [amounts is so general it was tough to link with balances, which are specific (remains)]
Byword ADAGE [I don't think of a "byword" as a wise saying (which it was once) but a phase associated with someone.]
Receipt CHIT [I think of a chit as an IOU, not as something received.]
Symbols of thinness DIMES [I thought REEDS. "Thin as a dime" is a simile, and the dime seems more a comaparison than a symbol.]
Kara Kum features DUNES [I didn't know the place.]
Bug-loving org. NSA [I thought CIA.]
Seasonal hrs. EDT [I thought DST because EDT is specific.]
Movie nerd, e.g. STEREOTYPE [I'm not sure I have a mental picture of a movie nerd. Do they have pocket protectors and thick glasses?]
"Freestyle" performer, perhaps RAPPER [Didn't know there was such an animal --- swimmers and skaters I heard of.]
Pacers and Rangers EDSELS [I didn't know Edsels had models. I was thinking pro teams or autos.]
RE: "Half an incomparable mixture" for APPLES, a good entry by the way, I don't like the expression "comparing apples and oranges" to disparage a comaparison. They are fruits, after all, and certainly could be and are compared.
