| BEADYEYES | Rodentlike features, and a phonetic hint to a segment of 18-, 23-, 36-, and 50-Across |
| DECOLONISE | Give independence to a segment of trade: I see? |
| FROZENFOUR | NCAA ice hockey finals ... or what 18-, 23-, 36- and 50-Across contain? |
| ITSTHEPITS | "Awful!" ... or a hint to the common element of 17-, 23-, 36- and 50-Across |
| DOUBLEUP | Share a single bed ... or a hidden feature of 17-, 23-, 36- and 50-Across |
| TRIPOLI | Capital of Libya, and a phonetic hint to a feature of this puzzle's four longest answers |
| FORMFITTING | Snug, or what the last words of 18-, 23-, 36-, and 51A are |
| ARC | From Latin for "bow", thus reflecting a curved shape, a word for a segment of a circle; or, a luminous discharge of electricity across a gap (3) |
| EYECONTACT | Public speaker's asset, and a phonetic hint to a feature of the starred answers |
| CLOVE | A segment of a bulb or garlic; or, the dried flower bud of a tree related to myrtle used as a traditional painkiller for toothache, or to flavour masala chai, biryani or mulled wine (5) |
| PAIRINGUP | Forming couples, or a feature of 17-, 25-, 36-, and 50- Across |
| SPLINT | A strip of wood for fire-lighting; a chip for basketry; a support for a fracture; or, a segment of armour (6) |
| SURROUNDSOUND | Home theater feature, and a hint to this puzzle's 10 border answers |
| DAS | Any of several small ungulate mammals of Africa and Asia with rodentlike incisors and feet with hooflike toes. |
| EASYONTHEEYES | Good-looking E or a phonetic hint to a feature found five times in this puzzle |
| BODYOFWATER | Geographic feature, and a hint to four answers in this puzzle |
| AUTOREVERSE | Cassette deck feature, and a hint to this puzzle's theme |
| PORE | Skin feature ... and a clue to the circled square in this row |
| RIFTVALLEY | Elongated trough formed by the subsidence of a segment of the Earth's crust along a fault (4,6) |
| SHARPNOSED | Having a pointed feature and a keen scent |
