| HOLDSWATER | IS VALID AS A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT A BUCKET DOES |
| ARRAIGN | Sounds like a description of what a king does in court proceedings (7) |
| HELDWATER | As a description of what the sponge did, was valid (4,5) |
| XANTHIC | Of a yellow tint, especially as a description of flowers (7) |
| GOLDILOCKS | In astronomy, an informal alternative to "circumstellar" as a description of a habitable zone |
| PINTSIZE | Very small, especially as a description of a person |
| STOCHASTIC | As a description of a variable in statistics, another word for “random” |
| HALFNELSON | Hold a description of what can be seen from the side of Trafalgar Square? |
| STIRTHEPOT | Cause trouble, or a description of what the strings of circled letters do |
| PROBATED | Established as valid, as a will |
| STANDUP | Remain valid, as a funny kind of act |
| SPOTTED | Seen as a description of the leopard (7) |
| CHOPPEDSANDWICH | Viral hero, and a description of what's found in each set of circled letters |
| WINBYANOSE | Edge out, and a description of what appears four places in this puzzle |
| DONE | Exhausted a description of what has been accomplished (4) |
| VOID | No longer valid as a check |
| APPROVED | Endorsed... or a description of what happened when Keyhole developed Maps, but then Google acquired Keyhole in 2004? |
| RIDINGCROP | Jockey's tool, or a description of what's been done to the starred answers |
| STARBURST | Chewy fruit-flavored candy ... or a description of what's depicted visually in this puzzle |
| UNEXPIRED | Still valid, as a visa |
