| PLAYHARDTOGET | Tease in literary work, not easily understood (4,4,2,3) |
| ATALEOFATUB | Literary work not, however, as told by the Wife of Bath? |
| BOSWELL | Literary work not getting approved by great biographer |
| DONTMENTIONIT | I tend not to mind knocking off early at work, not at all (4,7,2) |
| LITTLEREDBOOK | Former Oriental leader's published work not often consulted, we hear |
| NOVELTY | Small gimmick in literary work terribly lacking in substance (7) |
| PRESENTTENSE | Now is the time for using this in literary work (7,5) |
| TANGLE | Twist Nikolai Gogol originally employed in literary work |
| BOOBOO | Mistake in literary work twice falling short (6) |
| NOVEL | Note representation of love in literary work (5) |
| WRITER | What do we call one engaged in literary work (6) |
| STORMY | Wild moor originally featuring in literary work |
| FRICTION | Resistance right to be included in literary work (8) |
| WRITINGS | Is harrowing about it in literary work |
| PERSUASION | Belief in literary work (10) |
| SUBTLE | From "delicate", "finely woven" or "beneath a web", word meaning "not easily understood" in its early sense, later barely noticeable, crafty, faint, refined, slight, tactful or tenuous (6) |
| UNCLEAR | Ill-defined or not easily understood (7) |
| OBSCURE | Old boy's remedy, not easily understood |
| COMPLEX | Cause of psychic conflict not easily understood |
| CODE | Many a poem is not easily understood (4) |
