| BACKBOARD | Hoop holder, and a hint to the first four letters of each asterisked answer |
| SCONCE | Known in the rococo style as a girandole, a bracketed wall light with candle-holders and a reflective backplate or mirror (6) |
| MIRROR | With 102-Down, what the second halves of each asterisked answer are, vis-a-vis the first halves (well, almost...) |
| APEXPREDATOR | Animal that isn't preyed upon, and a hint to the first four letters of 4-, 9- and 21- |
| EPICENTER | *Point above a quake's origin (Note the first four letters of each starred clue's answer) |
| GEARSHIFT | What the puzzle's title refers to, or, how the first four letters of each starred entry might be described |
| FRIENDSTOTHEEND | True buds, and a hint to the last three or four letters of each starred answer |
| LANDHO | Cry from a crow's nest, or a hint to the first 4-7 letters of each starred clue's answer |
| EAR | Hoop holder, at times |
| SKIM | The first four letters of a shrub genus move quickly and lightly over a surface! (4) |
| FINALSWEEK | Period for taking exams ... or a hint to the pattern shown in the last three or four letters of the asterisked answers |
| ONEDIRECTION | Boy band indicating what must be added to the answer of each asterisked clue (3,9) |
| PUTONESFOOTINIT | Make a faux pas, or what you can do to the answers of each asterisked clue (15) |
| PLAYINGWITHFIRE | Inviting danger ... the end of which can precede each half of the answer to each asterisked clue |
| CAROL | "Deck the Halls," for one ... or a hint to the first two letters of each word in the starred answers |
| PARTOWNER | One with "a piece of the pie," perhaps (In this clue's answer, note the first four letters and the last three) |
| INITIALLY | At the start ... or how the first two letters of each starred clue relate to the answer? |
| IMBACKINTHEGAME | Remark after overcoming a setback, and a hint to two letters of each starred answer |
| GEAR | Word that's "shifted" in the first four letters of the four longest answers |
| VERMONT | State whose last four letters are the first four letters of its capital |
