| MIDDLEEARTH | "The Lord of the Rings" region, and a hint to the shared feature of 17-, 28- and 44-Across and 26-Do |
| PIC | And 26 Did le dejeuner sur l'herbe, for one, get stolen? (9) |
| SOUTHBEND | City that's the center of the Michiana region...and a feature of each of this puzzle's theme entries |
| LINCOLNCENTER | Performing arts site where ground was broken 5/14/1959, and a hint to the shared feature of the answers to starred clues |
| OZONE | Ring region for a type of gas (5) |
| ARENA | Ring, region around end of Saturn |
| HORNOFAFRICA | Region also known as the Somali Peninsula . . . or how you might describe a notable feature of 17-, 28- and 44-Across |
| SAVANNAH | Flat grassland in hot regions and a river in South Carolina (8) |
| CHUCKLEHEAD | Bozo, and a feature of 17-, 28-, and 46-Across |
| IFOLLOWYOU | "That makes sense to me," and a hint to 17-, 28- and 44- Across |
| YEA | The shared name of which town and river in north-eastern Victoria honours a colonel killed in the Crimean War in the same year the town was founded? (3) |
| TOWER | Word that follows the first word of 17-, 28-, and 44-Across, and both words of 58-Across |
| PLAYWITHMYFOOD | What I shouldn't do at the dinner table, except in 20-, 28-, and 44- across? |
| FINISHINGSCHOOL | Where social graces are taught ... and, with "of," a hint to the ends of 17-, 28-, and 44-Across |
| STIRFRIES | Uses a wok, or, read as a direction, a hint to the ends of 17-, 28- and 44-Across |
| HUMP | Shared feature of Mr Punch, Richard III |
| HIDDENGEM | Description in many a travel guide, and a hint to a word concealed in 17-, 28- and 44-Across |
| CHEEKPOUCHES | The shared identifying feature in all 18 species of gerbils |
| RRR | 2022 blockbuster whose name originally came from the shared initial of its director and two stars |
| SHUTTHEDOOR | What to do after entering a house ... and a hint to a sequence in 16-, 28- and 44-Across |
