| FACETIME | Direct vis-a-vis interaction; or, as one word, an app enabling a virtual form of said connection by means of video calls over Wi-Fi (4,4) |
| PEPPERBOX | A pot for "poivre"; a building, tower, turret etc resembling this; or, as one word, an old gun with revolving barrels, or a buttress projecting from the left-hand wall in Eton fives (6,3) |
| GEMINI | App enabling instant verification of AI-generated images using embedded watermarks. (6) |
| SCARAB | Sacred coleopteran of the ancient Egyptians; or, a piece of amethyst, carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise or other mineral carved in the form of said chafer as an amulet, gem or seal (6) |
| OVALS | Egg-shaped geometric figures also called ellipses; or, cricket fields in the form of said shapes (5) |
| SYNERGY | Interaction or co-operation between two or more things (7) |
| DIRECTDIALLING | The facility of making a phone call without connection by the operator (6,8) |
| ECOMAP | Social worker's diagram charting an individual or family's surroundings and community interactions or links (6) |
| THAI | Asian connection, by the sound of it (4) |
| TRUNKCALLS | Term for the antiquated long-distance telephone conversations that involved connection by operators between two exchanges (5,5) |
| AVATAR | Girl follows despicable person back in virtual form |
| AGOGO | Term, from the Old French for "fun", meaning as much as one likes, galore, in abundance or to one's heart's content; or, as one word, a Yoruba cowbell-like double chime (1,4) |
| IRONMAN | Character in a novel by Ted Hughes; a superhero with the alter ego Tony Stark; or, as one word, a trademark of long-distance triathlons (4,3) |
| RAGDOLL | A toy, also called a moppet, that is typically homemade from remnants or scraps of cloth; or, as one word, a luxuriantly coated blue-eyed cat (3,4) |
| EJECTOR | One who dispossesses another of his or her land; or, a word denoting a seat enabling a pilot's swift egress from an aircraft in an emergency (7) |
| GOODWILL | As two words, a phrase from the Biblical annunciation to the shepherds in the Nativity for amity, kindness or well-wishing; or, as one word in the US, a thrift shop (4,4) |
| TIKTOK | Robot-like character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum; or, as one word, a social media app for sharing short videos (3-3) |
| LOCK | With many in England designed by James Brindley, any one of a series of gated chambers on a canal enabling a narrowboat or barge to climb hills and mountains (4) |
| BUNNYHOP | A jump forward from a squat, suggestive of a rabbit; or, a bike trick enabling a cyclist to vault over an obstacle without dismounting (5,3) |
| CHILDPROOF | When parsed as one word, adjective describing cabinets that young family members can't open: 2 wds. for the sake of the theme (Theme answer: This existing word is reinterpreted as a two-word phrase me |
