Huh. Don't know why this is a 3 star quality so far. I think it's solid! Anyone: do you think folks are less enthused by the ___ [word] connections and x-inside-the word stuff?

I think people are turned off by that 'x-inside-the-word' stuff for sure. Also it doesn't help that you've got 5 Seuss characters, but you went with 'Daisy-Head Mayzie' to part of the Seuss grouping and not the Grinch.

There's also the hard group with two very US-specific terms; I think people tend to downgrade when they come across clues that mean nothing to the rest of the world, like 'hard seltzer'.

I think 3 star is about right. A couple of clues are quite tough outside of the States (the word candy in general for a start). And should accept synonyms for anything that has synonyms. A good enough grid but not perfect = 3 stars for me.

Interesting notes. Maybe I just haven't felt most of these quibbles because I was introduced to puzzgrid via 'Only Connect' on the BBC, where especially the letter, word-in-word, and lesser known item stuff is very common.

As far as Americanisms, for those unaware, puzzles on this site are groupable by country since vocabulary, pop culture, and other general knowledge are heavily influenced by your country (I mean, being American, I've tried British walls on here that I find impossible but are rated 'medium' since it's easier for Brits to work on walls with Britishisms, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and Jimmy Carr). To wit, I'd argue American-specific stuff on an American-tagged wall shouldn't detract solely on that basis.

But that's just my theory. . . My GAME THEORY!

Not a unique solution - Horton and Grinch could be swapped (Horton includes ton)