| PENNINES | Hills nicknamed the backbone of England |
| THEPENNINES | Range of hills known as the "backbone of England" |
| PENNINEWAY | Footpath along the backbone of England (7,3) |
| THEROCKIES | Byname of the mountain range forming the backbone of the western U.S. that stretches from Canada to New Mexico (3,7) |
| NCOS | "The backbone of the Army," per the U.S. Army |
| ROCKIES | The ___ , mountain range forming the backbone of the western North American continent (7) |
| TEJAS | Light Combat Aircraft expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force alongside the AMCA. (5) |
| PFCS | "The backbone of the Marines" |
| SGTS | They are the backbone of the USMC |
| SPINALCOLUMN | The backbone of a porcupine? (6,6) |
| RIDGE | The backbone of an animal (5) |
| APENNINES | Mountain range forming the "backbone" of Italy |
| SNIPE | It's the backbone of a bird! |
| MAINSTAY | It's the backbone of sanity, ma (8) |
| PINDUS | Mountain range considered the backbone of mainland Greece (6) |
| WHIP | Political party discipline o cial; a crop-like device; a mousse-like pudding; or, the backbone of a windmill sail (4) |
| BASE | ___ pair (link between the backbones of nucleic acid molecules, such as adenine and thymine in DNA) |
| SPINES | Old thorns or prickles of the rose, today's backbones of vertebrae or bound edges of books of prose (6) |
| PVTENTERPRISE | Backbone of capitalism, on the base? |
| VERTEBRA | Backbone of Green support in Europe? On the contrary (8) |
