| SMILER | I'm happy, in the early rounds, not to start from the back |
| SEEDS | Plant ovules to be sown; or, top athletes, arranged or "scattered" so as to not meet in the early rounds (5) |
| PURR | "I'm happy" in the siamese |
| MONTBLANC | Doctor cut short rounds not, unusually, in peak form |
| BYES | Free passes through the early rounds of a tournament |
| DRAWINGBOARD | Where one goes back to in order to start from scratch (7.5) |
| ROYALBLUE | A couple of chaps not happy in the shade (5,4) |
| UNUSED | Not happy, in the morning going spare (6) |
| CRAY | If you start from the East, in collision with crustacean (8) |
| POLEPOSITION | North or South, it's the best place to start from (4,8) |
| SEVENYEARITCH | The time you wish to start from scratch again? (5,4,4) |
| OUTSET | At the start, from the ... |
| MOODY | Low at first, daughter's happy in the end - being this? |
| YOUNGLADY | Girl solver happy in the Big Apple (5,4) |
| AMISH | Wee Abraham is happy in the US horse-and-buggy sect (5) |
| EVERYDAY | Always happy in the end, festive occasion is ordinary (8) |
| DUCKS | Oo! They do look happy in the water! (5) |
| TAKEOFFICE | Assume duty to start from frozen state (4,6) |
| INON | Party to start from our pub walls (2,2) |
| PAUSEBUTTON | Dad on purpose merely to start from nobbling option on remote |
