| TREADS | Footprints; tracks; steps; grooves of tyres for traction; or, soles of shoes (6) |
| RADIAL | Sort of tyre for an Academician to face (6) |
| MARTYR | Sheep turned 3/4 of tyre for saint, perhaps |
| TRACTION | Grip provided by tyres or the soles of shoes, eg. |
| TACKERS | Hobnails used to stud the soles of shoes (7) |
| THREAD | Strand of twisted cotton or silk fibres for needlework; helical groove of a screw; or, a series of messages on an internet forum (6) |
| CLUMPS | Small groups of ferns, grasses or trees; compact masses of hair or mud; extra-thick soles of boots or shoes; heavy treads; or, dull thuds (6) |
| GOUJON | From the name of a small goby fish, French culinary word for a deep-fried strip of breaded chicken or sole (6) |
| UNIQUE | From Latin for "one", word used to mean one and only; single or sole; special; or, without equal or like (6) |
| CLEATS | Mechanisms attached to the soles of cycling shoes for clipping into pedals; or, T-shaped nautical devices for securing ropes on boats (6) |
| EUROPA | In Greek myths, the king of Tyre's daughter, carried off by Zeus (6) |
| SALTED | Treated for traction, in a way |
| PLANTS | Chloroplast-bearing photoautotrophic flora with no power of locomotion; bedded oysters; factories; police traps; soles of the feet; spies; or, thieves' hoards (6) |
| ARGYLE | Diamonds on the soles of your shoes? - well socks anyway (6) |
| SPLITS | Which studs on the soles of boots give the wearer greater leverage on the ground (6) |
| SPRIGS | What are the studs on the soles of football boots, etc (6) |
| RIDGED | Like the soles of walking boots |
| DABS | Informal word for the fingertips; aces, adepts or experts; small plaice- or sole-like flatfishes sometimes caught by trawlers or shrimpers; gentle pats or taps; or, blobs of chocolate, glue, ink, pain |
| CASINGS | Housings of clocks; outer covers of tyres; or, skins of sausages (7) |
| GOODYEAR | American company known for manufacture of tyres and airships (8) |
