| Lab sample | 10 |
| Illustrator's goof | 22 |
| Go negative against, in a way | 29 |
| Glaze for pottery | 17 |
| Give a black eye to | 19 |
| Flub a paint job | 16 |
| Fingerprint | 11 |
| Fingerpaint, for example | 24 |
| Fingerpaint | 11 |
| Finger painting, often | 22 |
| Eyeliner boo-boo | 16 |
| Do some mudslinging | 19 |
| Dirty-politics ploy | 19 |
| Dirty trick on the campaign trail | 33 |
| Dirty campaign trick | 20 |
| Cosmetic problem | 16 |
| Charge falsely | 14 |
| Campaigner's dirty trick | 28 |
| Campaign unpleasantry | 21 |
| Campaign ugliness | 17 |
| Campaign tactic, sometimes | 26 |
| Campaign ploy | 13 |
| Campaign dirt | 13 |
| Campaign calumny | 16 |
| Campaign abuse | 14 |
| Blurry mess | 11 |
| Blur, as wet ink | 16 |
| Blur by rubbing | 15 |
| Bit of painting carelessness | 28 |
| Bit of negative campaigning | 27 |
| Bad mouth | 9 |
| Attack unfairly | 15 |
| Artist's mishap | 19 |
| Apply Vaseline | 14 |
| Apply lipstick unsteadily | 25 |
| Apply liberally, as jelly | 25 |
| Apply jam | 9 |
| ___ campaign (dirty politics) | 29 |
| Cottage cheese, to some | 23 |
| Smudged | 7 |
| Practiced yellow journalism, perhaps | 36 |
| Made a mess, maybe | 18 |
| Daubed | 6 |
| Bedaubed | 8 |
| Spread, as jam | 14 |
| Spread messily | 14 |
| Spread liberally | 16 |
| Practiced yellow journalism | 27 |
| Attacked politically | 20 |
| Under political attack, maybe | 29 |
| Spoke ill of | 12 |
| Slandered on the stump | 22 |
| Participated in an ugly campaign | 32 |
| Maligned politically | 20 |
| Applied liberally | 17 |
| Spread, like fingerpaint | 24 |
| Not applied neatly | 18 |
| Like cream cheese or suntan lotion | 34 |
| Dirty campaigner | 16 |
| Calumniator | 11 |
| Nasty politico | 14 |
| Finger-painter | 14 |
| Dirty-tricks man | 16 |
| Dirty politician, perhaps | 25 |
| Dirty politician, at times | 26 |
| Desperate politician during a campaign, perhaps | 47 |
| Tending to be more viscous | 26 |
| More prone to running | 21 |
| Less clear, as a printed page | 29 |
| Most smudgy | 11 |
| Most messy, as makeup | 21 |
| Wet ink concern | 15 |
| Tactic used in some campaigns | 29 |
| Doing a poor window-washing job | 31 |
| Dauber's activity | 21 |
| Campaigner's calumnious act | 31 |
| Campaign dirty tricks | 21 |
| Spread, as grease | 17 |
| Apply, as eye black | 19 |
| Apply unevenly, as grease | 25 |
| Apply liberally | 15 |
| Apply heavily | 13 |
| Applies, as finger paint | 24 |
| Vilifies politically | 20 |
| Daubs | 5 |
| Slings mud | 10 |
| Some dirty politics | 19 |
| Slide preparations | 18 |
| Mascara mishaps | 15 |
| Finger-paints, e.g. | 19 |
| Drags through the mud | 21 |
| Mirror marrers | 14 |
| Makeup mishaps | 14 |
| Lipstick mishaps | 16 |
| Window washer's concern | 27 |
| Vilifies jam? | 13 |
| Uses finger paints, say | 23 |
| Traduces | 8 |
| Spreads, as cream cheese | 24 |
| Specimens for a lab test | 24 |