| GUMSHOES | US word for rubber-soled sneakers, perhaps suitable for doing something stealthy, hence a term for detectives, who move furtively or sneak (8) |
| OLMEC | Group whose name comes from the Nahuatl word for "rubber," a material which they invented |
| BELLY | Perhaps suitable for ringing stomach |
| SHOD | Wearing sandals or sneakers perhaps |
| CHOKER | String of pearls, perhaps, suitable to give to French darling (6) |
| GEM | Word, from "bud", hence a term for "budding", for a jewel; one regarded as a paragon or treasure; an emerald or other jewel-like hummingbird; or, old type, smaller than diamond (3) |
| FASTLANE | The outside/right road on a dual carriageway for vehicles overtaking, thus most likely accelerating, hence a term for any hectic, pressured or rapidly paced lifestyle/situation (4,4) |
| SNAKEPIT | A chasm filled with adders, cobras, mambas, vipers and other venomous ophidians, hence a term for any dangerous, hellish, hostile or ruthlessly competitive environment (5-3) |
| BARK | An old word for a boat, hence a term meaning "go aboard, take ship" (4) |
| DRESSING | Size for stiffening textiles; a sauce such as vinaigrette; a US word for farce, forcemeat or stuffing; a scolding; gauze or lint for a wound; or, organic matter applied to the land (8) |
| SUNKEN | A mistletoe root; a US word for a doughnut; an unbuoyant person or thing, such as a weight; or, part of fishing-tackle that, with "hook" and "line", is referenced in a phrase used to mean "completely" |
| HOVER | US word for a helicopter; an almost stationary flight of a kestrel or of the aforementioned aircraft; or, a brooder for keeping chicks warm (5) |
| DERBY | A race for donkeys or three-year-old horses; US word for a bowler hat; or, a cheese flavoured with sage (5) |
| GUMSHOE | Slang term for a detective, due to wearing rubber-soled footwear (7) |
| INKPAD | A wad of pigment- or sepia-soaked cloth within a shallow box or tin, for rubber-stamping or fingerprinting (6) |
| BRAT | Dialect for an apron, child's pinafore or an overall; US word for a type of German sausage; or, a young rascal, scamp or tyke (4) |
| SNIT | US word for a British huff, hump, mope, pet, scene, strop, sulk or proverbial blow and a puff - a fit of the grumps when down in the dumps (4) |
| SAWYERS | Timber cutters; or, a US word for uprooted trees bobbing in a river (7) |
| PLIMSOLL | A light rubber-soled canvas shoe worn for certain sports (8) |
| SPANDEX | What was invented in the late 1950s and used as a replacement for rubber in women's foundation garments? (7) |
