| SMEUSE | A dialect word, combining the Old French for "secret hiding place" and "smoot", meaning a small hole, for a gap in a fence or hedge for the passing of a rabbit or a hare (6) |
| SNUZZLE | A dialect word combining a caress with the nose, a sleepy nestle and a cuddle to mean a snuffle, sniff, grub or snouty root around (7) |
| BREAKCOVER | Leave hiding place and rest with figure in field? (5,5) |
| POCO | Musical direction meaning a little |
| TELEVANGELIST | T.D. Jakes or Jerry Falwell, e.g.; like our other three theme entries, this is a "portmanteau word," combining letters and meanings of two words to form a third |
| IRON | Press clothes smoot |
| MIT | Sch. that measured the Harvard Bridge in "Smoots," units based on the height of a student named Oliver Smoot |
| BAUBLE | From the Old French for "child's toy", a showy trinket or trifling piece of finery; a round shiny glass ornament for a Christmas tree; or, a jester's sceptre in the form of a head surmounted on a stic |
| PARLOUR | From the Old French for "to speak", a monastery or nunnery's apartment for conversation; an antiquated word for a sitting room; a beauty salon; an ice cream shop; or, a milking shed (7) |
| IZZARD | Archaic and dialect word for the letter Z, thought to derive from the Old French for 'and zed' (6) |
| HOLT | Term for a fortress/keep originally, later a dialect word for a grasp or grip; an otter's riverbank couch, den or lair; a refuge; or, from "twig", a copse, orchard, wood or wooded hill (4) |
| BISCUIT | From the Old French for "twice-cooked" due to an original twofold process of baking and drying in a slow oven, a small unleavened cake, such as a cookie or a shortbread round (7) |
| GARGOYLE | From the Old French for "throat" and related to a word for a tracheal gurgling sound, a waterspout in grotesque human or animal form (8) |
| INGLE | From Scottish Gaelic for "light, fire" and Irish for "live ember", a dialect word for a fire, fireplace, flame or hearth (5) |
| SCRUMPY | From a dialect word for a small or withered apple, cider traditionally brewed in the West Country (7) |
| POMPON | From the Old French for "knot of ribbons", a tufted ball or bobble of silk or wool; a cluster of tinsel for cheerleading; or, a globe-like flower of a chrysanthemum or dahlia (6) |
| AFFIANCE | From the Old French for "trust", a literary word for a pledge of faith such as betrothal or engagement (8) |
| THIBLE | First woman to fly in a free-floating hot-air balloon; or, a dialect word for a stick for stirring broth or porridge (6) |
| SQUIRE | From the Old French for "shield-bearer", a young man of noble birth who attended a knight originally, later a landed gentleman of old family (6) |
| FLAN | From the Old French for "flat cake" and related to the Dutch for "custard", a quiche-like sweet or savoury tart (4) |
