| SOUP | Beginning, in an idiom ... or a hint to the starred clues' answers, pre-transformation |
| NUTS | End, in an idiom ... or a hint to the starred clues' answers |
| SCRATCH | The beginning, in an idiom |
| EXPRESSION | The act of forcing or squeezing something out; an idiom or other phrase; or, one's countenance (10) |
| FISHKETTLE | Name, recalled in an idiom for an awkward state of affairs, for an oval or oblong pan in which to poach a salmon or trout in court-bouillon (4,6) |
| RHYME | From Greek meaning "to flow", word for a crambo; a couplet or other piece of assonant verse; a poem; a consonant Cockney phrase/idiom; or, any chime, jingle or tink (5) |
| SQUAREPEG | Item that can't fit in a round hole, in an idiom |
| HASITALL | Manages to balance success in work and family, in an idiom |
| PHRASE | A clause, expression, group of words, idiom or other thing said (6) |
| SICILY | Island stay's beginning in an unfriendly manner (6) |
| ANGOLA | Country life's beginning in an Indian state |
| ODYSSEY | One day you see someone enjoy your beginnings in an amazing adventure (7) |
| ITALIANISM | A southern European country's idiom or habit (10) |
| NAKED | Like a jaybird, in an idiom |
| PIGS | They're unlikely to fly, in an idiom |
| PROVERBIAL | Referred to in an idiom (10) |
| WIDENET | Something to cast, in an idiom |
| HELL | Alternative to high water, in an idiom |
| ERRS | Acts like a human, in an idiom |
| COGS | Small parts of a big organization, in an idiom |
