| PRETEND | Pretty to begin with but finally seen to feign it (7) |
| DAWG | Cartoon Deputy hound finally seen to wag wildly (4) |
| SIMULATE | A lie must be used to feign it (8) |
| INCLUDE | Misclued 'wearing' to begin with, but don't leave it out (7) |
| ELAPSES | Turns pale to begin with, but it passes (7) |
| RALLIED | Romeo, half-hearted, had to fabricate death to start with, but recovered (7) |
| MISSING | Is to sing a number to open with, but is absent (7) |
| TROUBLE | Worry, but finally getting money in Moscow (7) |
| MELODIC | Pretty to listen to |
| WITHER | A girl's got humour to begin with, but it will fade (6) |
| SECEDES | Sees round Church of England diocese to start with, but formally withdraws membership (7) |
| WASHTUB | It's a container for cleaning with, but has collapsed (7) |
| LAMPOON | Left a politician nothing to get on with but satire (7) |
| STASHED | Dashes around but finally getting hidden away |
| PRIM | Primitive to begin with but now formally prudish (4) |
| CASCADE | Aces cad dealt with but falls (7) |
| PROSAIC | Professionals use LLM chatbot to start with, but its output is uninspired |
| HATCHET | Cutter emerged, but finally lost time |
| TROTTED | Moved slowly but finally decayed |
| GOLFERS | People with, but only just, sufficient grounds for wearing plus fours |
