| THEW | Muscle or strength |
| TONE | Greek-rooted "tension" in a muscle or in a violin string; a phone's ting or an email's ping; or, the character of a hue, whether muted, pale and pastel or bright, neon or even shocking (4) |
| FLEXOR | Show off muscle or muscle (6) |
| GRIT | A word for sabulous or stony gravel; the grain or texture of rock; a measure of the coarseness of sandpaper; or, one's courage or strength of mind (4) |
| LEVATOR | Measure of energy in back muscle or other muscle |
| BRAWN | From "flesh (for roasting)", a word for pressed potted meat; a boar; muscle; or, physical strength, as opposed to brain/intelligence (5) |
| STRAIN | From pressure on a muscle or tension in the mind to ancestry, descent, family or kind, this is a word of many meanings, all dictionary-defined (6) |
| KNEE | A silent-lettered body part name other than knuckle, limb, muscle or thumb that, if used to bend or genuflect for too long, is likely to go numb (4) |
| BICEPS | Again impeded by twisted muscle, or another muscle (6) |
| SIZEANDSHAPE | Muscle or crossword variables? |
| CAR | Muscle or sports follower |
| SHIRT | Muscle or tee follower |
| TORN | Sports injury, ... muscle (or Natalie Imbruglia hit) |
| TISSUE | Muscle or bone |
| FLEXED | Tightened a muscle or limb (6) |
| BEACH | Word with muscle or pebble |
| SILENTC | Sound in "muscle" or "scissors" |
| EBBING | A gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number) |
| EBB | A gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number). |
| BACKBONE | The body's spine; by extension, a chief support or mainstay; or, courage, stamina or strength (8) |
