Thank you, as always, for your kind attention and criticism. It's wild to see myself improving at setting so rapidly, especially with the knowledge that there's so much more to learn, so I'm grateful for everyone who takes the time to comment.
1A: "nothing"; "inside" braZILCHestnuts
4A: "unclothed"; S-NAKED ("slithered topless")
5A: dd. "drowns"; "in pool, nails it" (to sink a ball in pool is to put it in the pocket, which is generally good)
1D: "some small issues" (i.e. small publications); Z ("the last letter) + IN ("in") + ES ("EpistleS, has no meat to it")
2D: "compare"; LI ("half-baked lies") + KEN (an "old-fashioned" way to say "knowledge")
3D: "Hell"; SHADE ("spirit") with the S moved to the end ("the first should be last")
Thanks! I like 1d. I thought I had the word play, but I had to say the word a half dozen times before it registered. The second part of 5a seems like a stretch, but that's probably just me not familiar enough with pool lingo! Thanks again!
Oliver Hardy 2:20 · 2023-12-30T11:23:26.736Z
Thanks for a nicely challenging puzzle.
I hate to disagree with ObscureFox but I hated 1D; ZINE is not a word that I am familiar with, it being a slang term, but it is in Chambers so I lose!
5A - solved from the definition of "drowned" but didn't see the double definition; the "in" as part of the clue and also the solution really threw me off the scent. It's a very clever clue, very sneaky and definitely too good for me.