| CAMPAIGN | Camping out and a political operation is involved (8) |
| PULLSOMESTRINGS | A puppeteer and a political boss both ___ |
| CANCELLI | Latin "crossbars" of a lattice or grating that gave us "cross out" and a word for an exchequer official, originally a porter behind a screen (8) |
| TERRAPIN | Blame one when a bird gets out and a reptile (8) |
| FOOTPATH | Course of that operation is resolved (8) |
| SURGICAL | This sort of operation is cutting edge stuff (8) |
| SPOTTING | Cannabis used in police operation is leaving marks (8) |
| ZEROHOUR | Military, the time at which a planned operation is set to beg in (4,4) |
| WELLDONE | Congratulatory message when the drilling operation is finished (4,4) |
| MEDIOCRE | Doctor handling first of operations is about average (8) |
| GINANDLIME | Have a meal, dining out, and a drink (3,3,4) |
| EKED | Squeaked (out), and a rhyme of a word in this clue |
| BARBIE | Doll with a new movie out (and a boyfriend named Ken) (6) |
| MIDDLECHILD | Sibling who stereotypically feels left out, and a hint to the little one hiding in 17-, 23-, 34- and |
| THECHIMES | 1844 Charles Dickens novella subtitled A Goblin Story Of Some Bells That Rang An Old Year Out And A New Year In (3,6) |
| WINBYANOSE | Edge out, and a description of what appears four places in this puzzle |
| HAVINGACOW | Freaking out, and a hint to the theme answers |
| COFFEEBREAK | Midmorning work time-out, and a hint to this puzzle's circles |
| SCRIBE | B cries out and a writer comes in (6) |
| UNSEALS | Opens with the sun out and a jumble sale going on (7) |
