| NANCYDREW | "The Hidden Staircase" sleuth |
| DREW | "The Hidden Staircase" sleuth Nancy |
| SAM | Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase actor Trammell |
| MIDDLEEAR | Site of the hammer, anvil and stirrup ... and a hint to the hidden word in the answers to starred cl |
| AMON | He is an Egyptian primeval deity, originally a god of the dead, whose name signifies "the hidden one." He is the Son of Thoth and Maat. Who is it? |
| RISEANDFALL | Move like tides and stock prices, or what the hidden words do in the answers to the starred clues? |
| CRYPTOLOGY | Study of the hidden in the form of ciphers, codes and secret messages; or, the art of writing or solving them (10) |
| ALABAT | Island municipality in the Philippines known as "The Hidden Gem of Quezon" (6) |
| COLDHEARTED | Unemotional, and a hint to the hidden word in the answers to starred clues |
| TRAPS | Staples of the game show 'Legends of the Hidden Temple' |
| PACKARD | Vance, author of the best-selling book on advertising The Hidden Persuaders (7) |
| ENAMOR | Object that might be the first half of either of the hidden words (6) |
| THISANDTHAT | Miscellany, and a hint to the hidden words in the starred answers |
| CATEBLANCHETT | Actress who voiced Valka in the 2019 film How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (4,9) |
| SPY | Mole; and the hidden word in each of the five longest answers |
| DANDELION | Wild flower, the subject of the hidden quotation (9) |
| STATEOFBLISS | Very happy "place" [read the Notepad for info about the hidden answers in this puzzle] |
| OREGON | Mahonia aquifolium, the '___ Grape' - and US state of the hidden city (6) |
| POWHATAN | Father of Pocahontas (and example of the hidden word in the theme answers--this one just happens to be consecutive) |
| REY | King, to Juan [LAST WEEK: The hidden name was Claudette Colbert, whose name appears across the grid's center row as CLAW / DEBT / |
