| INSIDEINFO | *Stock tips, e.g., or a hint to the starred answers' synonyms and their placement in the grid |
| COMPASS | Instrument whose four ordinal points are represented by the initials of the four starred entries, which also explains their placement in the grid |
| PELOSI | "New Jan. 6 Footage Shows Nancy ___ Threatening to Give Trump Bad Stock Tips" (the Onion headline) |
| FRINGEFESTIVALS | Unconventional cultural celebrations, or the circled answers relative to their placement in this puzzle's grid |
| PUTSINAWORDFOR | Confidently enters the answer's synonym? |
| JINGLE | It tends to pull some strings for product placement in The Sound of Music (6) |
| SHUI | Feng ___ (Art of placement in the home) |
| RUNWAY | A catwalk; a chute or flume for conveying logs; a track made by a small animal under snow or in grass, e.g.; or, a type of airstrip for the take-off and landing of aircraft (6) |
| ADVANCEDDEGREES | Post-college goals, e.g., or a hint to what the starred answers are progressively "awarded" |
| LEAPDAY | 2/29/16, e.g. ... or a hint to the circled squares in this puzzle |
| SEMICIRCLES | First- and third- quarter moons, eg .. or a hint to this puzzle's theme |
| TRIPLETHREAT | Actor/singer/dancer, e.g., or a hint to answers to asterisked clues (12) |
| POSITION | Social status or rank; a yogic asana; or, each one of five basic foot or arm placements in ballet (8) |
| VWS | Bugs, e.g. ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme |
| EREADER | Kindle, e.g. ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme? |
| THUMB | Part of the hand whose placement in an upwards or downwards position, signalling either approval or displeasure, derives from gladiatorial combat (5) |
| THESAURUS | Book with systematically arranged lists of words and their synonyms and antonyms (9) |
| TANKED | Performed poorly in order to optimize draft placement, in sports lingo |
| CHEMICALELEMENT | Half-page written about the final placement in Bond U, for one? (8,7) |
| EYEINTHESKY | Spy satellite, e.g, or a phonetic hint to the circled |
