| ORB | A literary word for an eyeball or a celestial body; or, a monarch's ceremonial golden globe (3) |
| INFORMER | A literary word for an animator or an inspirer; or, a fink, nose, supergrass, whistle-blower or other messenger of often incriminating news (8) |
| BSTAR | Bluish-white celestial body, or a celeb who falls just short of A-list? |
| POLAR | Of or near a pole of the earth or a celestial body |
| TWINKLE | A dance step; a glitter; a blink or a wink; the scintillation or sparkle of a light or a celestial star; or, a former comic for girls (7) |
| SHOWER | Downpour of rain; or, a celestial event such as the Perseids when a number of meteors radiate (6) |
| ORBS | Eyeballs or moons, e.g. |
| OAT | A cereal grass with grains traditionally fed to racehorses to gee them up; literary word for a straw of said plant as a shepherd's pipe; or, a pastoral poem generally (3) |
| EVE | Literary word for nightfall; the day or night before a notable occasion or festival, such as Christmas Day; or, the biblical first woman recalled in the name of an apple pudding (3) |
| SPHERE | A globe; a literary word for the night sky perceived as a vaulted roof; or, a class or stratum of society (6) |
| GYRE | A literary word for a circle, revolution, ring, spiral, swirl or whirl, thus an atmospheric/oceanic vortex; or, a whorl of leaves or petals (4) |
| SWAN | A waterfowl with a species named after an engraver and naturalist who created the Chillingham Bull woodcut; or, a literary word for a bard/poet (4) |
| BOWL | Wooden ball with a bias; rounded part of a spoon; or, a literary word for a drinking cup (4) |
| MINGLEMENT | A literary word for the action of blending, combining or socialising; or, a medley or mixture (10) |
| IRE | Literary word for "anger" (3) |
| NAVY | A nation's maritime force including its crew; or, a literary word for a fleet of ships (4) |
| AFFIANCE | From the Old French for "trust", a literary word for a pledge of faith such as betrothal or engagement (8) |
| REEDS | Stalks of wetland grasses used for thatching; a literary word for arrows; or, musical pipes (5) |
| CHORDS | Harmonic sets of musical notes; or, a literary word for harp strings (6) |
| BOWER | Literary word for a country cottage or summer house; a shady place in a garden or wood; or, a lady's private boudoir in a medieval castle (5) |
