| DADJOKE | Any of the groan-inducing clues at 3-Down, 5-Down and 7-Down |
| GORMENGHAST | Castle of the Groans — lead characters in magnificent gothic novel |
| LACRIMABILIS | Tear-jerking, lamentable, like the groan Aeneas heard, Aen. 3.39 |
| FABELMANS | 2023 film drama starring 26 Across, 3 Down, 5 Down and 27 Down (9) |
| WHALE | The _, 2023 psychological drama film starring 15 Across, 28 Across, 4 Down, 5 Down, and 23 Down (5) |
| HOOD | _ _: Prince of Thieves, film starring 15 Across, 3 Down, 5 Down, 9 Down & 23 Down (5,4) |
| ROBIN | _ _: Prince of Thieves, film starring 15 Across, 3 Down, 5 Down, 9 Down & 23 Down (5,4) |
| GOLDENEYE | 1995 spy film starring 17 Across, 20 Across, 3 Down, 5 Down, 19 Down and 24 Down (9) |
| WODEHOUSE | The creator (surname) of 2 down and 7 down who was born with the first names Pelham Grenville (9) |
| JUAN | With 3-Down and 7-Down, an explorer who visited the IV in 1776 |
| LEADROLES | 1-Down and 7-Down, in their respective films |
| SORROWS | Woes of missing down clue at first in the cryptic crossword (7) |
| SQUELCH | Sucking sound of cunning clues at headquarters (7) |
| PARSEC | Break down clues at first, that will get you extremely far |
| ILIAC | One line clue at the very top about a bone (5) |
| DODGE | Setter perhaps needs clue at the end to cover up dead duck (5) |
| RONS | Syllables after "Da Doo" (y'know, I try and avoid pluralized name clues at all costs, but this clue |
| WIFI | Amenity that's allowing me to write these crossword clues at a coffee shop |
| JOKES | Droll or groan-inducing puns printed on strips in Christmas crackers (5) |
| ITALIAN | Language of the clue at 39- |
