| BAMBOO | As early as 1300 BCE the Chinese were using this plant for writing; they bound pieces of it together to form tablets. |
| TIDETABLES | Jack may use these, picking up bound pieces of furniture (4,6) |
| HOPVINE | Not a vain hope perhaps of using this plant for making beer (3-4) |
| FRITTER | A batter-bound piece of fruit or vegetable, named for the manner in which it is sizzled in hot oil (7) |
| ROCKETS | Fighting the Mongols in 1232, the Chinese were first to use what in war? (7) |
| MINGLED | The Chinese were first to have integrated (7) |
| EIGHT | Pieces 'of' it were silver (5) |
| MADDER | This plant for dye is not so sensible |
| CATHAY | Where the old Chinese were found when a yacht capsized (6) |
| SPARTANS | The first recorded use of cryptography for correspondence was used as early as 400 BCE by this ancient people, who employed a cipher device called the scatale for secret communication between military |
| ROPE | Describing a length of thick cord, one of the oldest English words, recorded as early as 725 AD (4) |
| GUAVA | A fruit cultivated in Peru as early as 2500 BCE; now India is the main producer (5) |
| LIEDETECTOR | This device for supposedly identifying fibs was in use as early as 1909 (3-8) |
| DAMASCUS | Capital city in the Middle East (pop about 2.5 million), inhabited as early as 10,000 BC (8) |
| ENCASH | Exchange for notes and coins remains after banks in Elgin close as early as possible? |
| SARDINIA | It is an island and region of Italy. Its capital is Cagliari. During the First Punic War (264-241 BCE) the Romans tried to capture it. In Antony and Cleopatra (act 2, scene 6), Pompey says, "You have |
| CASTIRON | Material used for weaponry in ancient China as early as 500 B.C. |
| ALREADY | Gangster gets money as early as this |
| AVON | Cosmetics company employing women sales reps as early as the 19th century |
| GOUACHE | Opaque body/watercolour employed in many of the works of Albrecht Durer and Paul Sandby, as well as early miniaturists (7) |
