| THECRACKOFDAWN | Time for a French joke? (3,5,2,4) |
| CRACKOFDAWN | Early French joke? (5,2,4) |
| PUN | Quietly get a French joke (3) |
| CARTESIANPLANE | Carpentry tool for a French mathematician? |
| ENGAGE | Take part in French joke, eagerly to begin with |
| SABOT | From the French for "shoe" and related to the Italian for "ciabatta", word for a French or Breton peasant's wooden clog, from which a term for vandalism derives (5) |
| UNEQUIPPED | Not being furnished with a French joke puts pressure on journalist (10) |
| CHIP | Another word for a French fry; a counter used as currency in a casino; or, a small chunk of chocolate (4) |
| BAGUETTE | Another name for a French stick; or, a precious gem cut in the shape of a rectangle (8) |
| STL | Midwestern city named for a French king, for short |
| CORIOLISFORCE | Cause for Northern Hemisphere winds to rotate clockwise, named for a French mathematician |
| HUGUENOT | Term for a French Protestant of the 16th and 17th centuries, a number of whom emigrated to Ireland. (8) |
| CHATEAUBRIAND | A thick cut from the tenderloin of beef created for a French author and diplomat by his personal chef |
| ESCROC | Word, possibly from the Italian for "fire-maker, stoker", for a French conman, rogue or swindler, or perhaps an unscrupulous fraudulent broker (6) |
| GAVOTTE | Piece of music written for a French dance in four-four time (7) |
| OMAHA | Code name for a French beach |
| PRALINES | Confections named for a French army officer |
| LEOTARDS | Garb named for a French aerialist |
| CLUNY | Kind of lace named for a French town |
| JANSTEPHENSON | Ladies' star who once posed topless for a French magazine |
