| FRIENDSTOTHEEND | True buds, and a hint to the last three or four letters of each starred answer |
| FINALSWEEK | Period for taking exams ... or a hint to the pattern shown in the last three or four letters of the asterisked answers |
| MALEBONDING | It happens between buds, and a feature of the starred answers |
| ANIMALHOUSE | 1978 John Belushi movie, and a hint to the first three or four letters of the starred answers |
| MUSCLEGROW | "The last three or four reps is what makes the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _." -Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| GEARSHIFT | What the puzzle's title refers to, or, how the first four letters of each starred entry might be described |
| BACKBOARD | Hoop holder, and a hint to the first four letters of each asterisked answer |
| EPICENTER | *Point above a quake's origin (Note the first four letters of each starred clue's answer) |
| HIGHSCHOOL | Last 3 or 4 steps |
| STINGY | Penny-pinching ... or a three-part hint to two outer and two inner letters of each starred clue's answer |
| LANDHO | Cry from a crow's nest, or a hint to the first 4-7 letters of each starred clue's answer |
| SPRING | A fountainhead; the rise of the sea to its extreme height; or, a beginning, birth, dawn or freshest time, hence the vernal season of growth, when buds and plants bloom and burst forth (6) |
| INITIALLY | At the start ... or how the first two letters of each starred clue relate to the answer? |
| IMBACKINTHEGAME | Remark after overcoming a setback, and a hint to two letters of each starred answer |
| FINALCUT | Director's demand, and the last four or five letters of each starred answer |
| OPENINGDAY | Annual ballpark occurrence, or a hint to the first few letters of each starred entry |
| APRIL | From a Latin word meaning "to open", thought to allude to buds and flowers opening in spring, the fourth month of the year and the one in which Cuckoo Day falls (5) |
| MACKLEMORE | *"Thrift Shop" rapper (Theme hint: Note the last several letters of each starred clue's answer) |
| DROPALINE | Say hi to in writing...or what to do to the first letter of each starred clue? |
| CAROL | "Deck the Halls," for one ... or a hint to the first two letters of each word in the starred answers |
