| WHETSTONE | West on the playing that's unlikely to make one a card sharper |
| DRYAD | Nymph that's unlikely to make you buy? (5) |
| PALMERS | Card-sharpers returning from the Holy Land? |
| AGITATOR | To join Alcoholics Anonymous, it takes grit but it's apt to make one a stirrer |
| VICTORIA | Coach may only go so far to make one a winner initially |
| ENNOBLE | To make one a lord is, among men, no blessing (7) |
| DEFY | Resist authority to make one a god, but lose heart (4) |
| NOSE | On the --- (playing one's own money, as opposed to playing house chips)* |
| ARIZONA | Sixth-largest state of the US, in the south-west on the border with Mexico (7) |
| WESTERLIES | Prevailing winds from the west on the poleward sides of the horse latitudes (10) |
| SUREFOOTED | Refuse to do puzzle, though unlikely to make a mistake? (4-6) |
| JALISCO | Seventh-largest of the 31 states of Mexico, in the west on the Pacific coast; capital, Guadalajara (7) |
| RAJASTHAN | Largest of the 28 states of India, in the north-west on the border with Pakistan (9) |
| AVAIL | One could make one a Valentine, maybe, but what's the use? (5) |
| CABARITA | Suburb and park in the inner west on the Parramatta River (8) |
| WRY | Bent on going west on the railway (3) |
| SEOUL | Capital of South Korea, in the west on the Han River (5) |
| AQABA | Sole coastal city of Jordan, in the south west on the Red Sea (5) |
| BALLHOG | One unlikely to make a pass |
| NONLETHAL | Possibly chamber music auditorium boosts bottom line, unlikely to make a killing |
