| SHERYLSWOOPES | Openly gay basketballer who was the first woman to be signed by the WNBA: 2 wds. |
| BENWHITE | The Brighton centre-back who has been signed by Arsenal. (3,5) |
| BRESTLITOVSK | Name given to the treaty signed by the Bolsheviks and the Central Powers to end Russia's participation in the first world war (5-7) |
| ISRAEL | Roy Nissany, the first driver from this country, to be signed up by a Formula 1 team. (6) |
| TINAFEY | "You can't be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute." She was the first woman to be head writer on Saturday Night Live. |
| HALLOWES | Secret agent tortured by the Gestapo who became the first woman to be awarded the George Cross (8) |
| STEVIENICKS | American singer and songwriter who became the first woman to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: 2 wds. |
| FLORENCE | British hospital reformer who was the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit (8,11) |
| NIGHTINGALE | British hospital reformer who was the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit (8,11) |
| ODETTE | _ Hallowes, Second World War agent who was the first woman to be awarded the George Cross (6) |
| FISHERMAN | Ring of the ___, signet used until 1842 to seal official documents signed by the Pope (9) |
| DRAWNUP | All waiting ___ to be signed? (5,2) |
| DESIGNATE | Name the sort of tea to be signed for |
| STANDBACK | 1983 top 10 hit for Stevie Nicks the first woman to be inducted twice (in 1998 and 2019) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: 2 wds. |
| CORI | First woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her role in the discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen (surname only) |
| KNIGHT | Painter Dame Laura who, in 1936, broke tradition when she became the first woman to be elected to full membership of the Royal Academy (6) |
| NIKKIHALEY | In 2010, she became the first woman to be elected governor of South Carolina: 2 wds. |
| SUSANAMARTINEZ | In 2010, she became the first woman to be elected governor of New Mexico: 2 wds. |
| SARAHPALIN | In 2006, she became the first woman to be elected governor of Alaska: 2 wds. |
| OCONNOR | First woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States, Sandra Day ... (1'6) |
