| MALTESEFALCON | The ..., a 1930 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett with Sam Spade as the main character (7,6) |
| MALTESE | 1930 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, The _ Falcon (7) |
| UPTOWNGIRL | 1983 Billy Joel song which had supermodel Christie Brinkley as the main character in the video (6,4) |
| PCU | Campus flick with David Spade as a young Republican |
| SPADILLE | Alternative name for the ace of spades, as used in the card games ombre and quadrille (8) |
| THEBEESKNEES | Leader of excavation in ancient city, keen to break out spades as just what's needed (3,4,5) |
| SAWS | Recognised spades as bladed items (4) |
| ORIENTEXPRESS | Murder On The --- ---, 1934 detective novel by Agatha Christie featuring Hercule Poirot (6,7) |
| AMBASSADORIAL | Like a senior diplomat, sail abroad with Sam maybe (13) |
| THETHINMAN | 1934 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett that was the basis for a film series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy (3,4,3) |
| THEMALTESEFALCON | 1929 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally serialised in the magazine Black Mask |
| THINMAN | The _ _, 1934 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett (4,3) |
| THIN | The --- Man, 1934 detective novel by Dashiell Hammett (4) |
| FALCON | The Maltese ___ 1930 Dashiell Hammett novel featuring the fictional detective Sam Spade |
| VILEBODIES | A 1930 novel by Evelyn Waugh (4,6) |
| KILTS | Documentary series with Sam Heughan, Men in _: A Roadtrip With Sam And Graham (5) |
| SLEUTH | Another name for a private investigator such as Agatha Christie's Poirot or Hammett's Sam Spade |
| HELLSANGELS | Group that shares its name with a 1930 Howard Hughes film |
| AFFAIR | The Mysterious At Styles, first detective novel by Agatha Christie, introducing Hercule Poirot (6) |
| BUBBLES | A 1930 film short featuring Judy Garland before she became famous (7) |
