| SWEAR | "They say all lovers ___ more performance than they are able" (Troilus and Cressida) |
| EMPIRICISTS | They say all knowledge is derived from experience, but cripes, MIT is exhausting! |
| OUTDO | Be better in performance (than another person) |
| HEART | Seals are able to save oxygen when diving because they are able to slow down their ___ rate |
| QUEUNT | They are able: queo, quire, quivi, quitum |
| SCARCE | When food is ___, scorpions can slow down their metabolism so much so that they are able to live off just one insect per year |
| BIGHEADED | Tentatively hide badge, wanting people to think they're more important than they are |
| INLALALAND | Letters only from Linda, assuming things are better than they are (2,2-2,4) |
| PANDACUBS | Newborns whose mothers are around nine hundred times heavier than they are |
| ROMANTICISING | Incoming star I mentor, making things seem more appealing than they are |
| ACHILLES | He was the son of Peleus and Thetis and chief hero of the Greeks in the Trojan War. In Troilus and Cressida (act 1, scene 2), Cressida says, "There among the Greeks ___, a better man than Troilus." |
| BLUFFS | Pretends the cards are better than they are (6) |
| UNDERSTATEMENTS | Made by presenting things as smaller or less important than they are (15) |
| SHAM | Ultimately defines actor as one acting other than they are (4) |
| OVERRATE | Reckon the bowling figures to be better than they are? (8) |
| REAR | "Objects in the ___ View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" |
| HOMOPHONES | They sound more similar than they look ... and are central to this puzzle's theme |
| ALOHA | All lovers on holiday are starting with a Hawaiian greeting |
| SPOTLIGHTEFFECT | Belief that people are noticing you more than they really are |
| CANNIBAL | Cold girl -- one starts to beguile all lovers as man-eater (8) |
