| PLEURISY | Ailment that caused the deaths of Francis Scott Key and William Wordsworth |
| MUSHROOM | Toxic ingredient in a Thai curry that caused the death of a father and daughter after consumption. (8) |
| ASP | Venomous snake that caused the death of Cleopatra (3) |
| LAKEPOETS | Literary group of the early 19th century that comprised Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey and William Wordsworth (4,5) |
| ALLISION | This word, meaning "the act or an instance of a ship striking a stationary object," spiked after the collapse in March of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge |
| NERO | Final emperor of the Julio-Ctaudian dynasty, who ananged the deaths of his mother, wife and step-brother (4) |
| DRESDEN | Which city was bombed between 13 and 15 February 1945, when more than 3,900 tons of high explosives were dropped, resulting in a firestorm and the deaths of an estimated 25,000 people? (7) |
| OPAL | Which unlucky gem, set in a ring, was blamed for the deaths of Alphonso XII of Spain, his wife and h |
| CHALLENGER | NASA's Space Shuttle that broke apart 73 seconds after take-off in 1986, resulting in the deaths of the crew |
| TALIASHIRE | American actress in The Godfather and Rocky series of films who is the sister of Francis Ford Coppola and the aunt of Nicolas Cage and Sofia Coppola (5.5) |
| STAR | "The ___-Spangled Banner," written by Francis Scott Key 9/14/1814 |
| FORTMCHENRY | Historic Baltimore site where visitors can see a draft of a Francis Scott Key poem |
| GLARE | Anthem man: With stars in his eyes, Francis Scott Key colorfully described the 5D's red ___ |
| INAIR | Where bombs are bursting, per Francis Scott Key |
| IVORY | Which trade is responsible for the deaths of at least 20,000 African elephants each year? (5) |
| OER | Above, to Francis Scott Key |
| USFLAG | Francis Scott Key inspiration |
| NEWSNIGHT | Current affairs programme that caused the resignation of George Entwistle as Director-General of the BBC |
| BHOPAL | Indian city where a 1984 leak of toxic gas caused the death of several thousand people, with half a million affected (6) |
| GREENEYED | Such a monster caused the death of Desdemona (5-4) |
