| BRILLIANCE | "She believed that love should appear instantaneously, with the ____ of a lightning storm" (Madame Bovary) |
| OUTAGE | Occasional result of a lightning-storm |
| ONEIRON | "If you are caught in a lightning storm hold up a ___. Even God can't hit a ___," said Lee Trevino (3,4) |
| COMMONSENSE | Not standing in an open field during a lightning storm, say |
| ANABAPTIST | Name given in the 16th Century to a member of a religious group which believed that only adults should be baptised (10) |
| PLATO | Philosopher who believed that the physical world is only a shadow of true reality |
| PTOLEMY | He believed that earth was at the centre of the universe! Let my Petty Officer work it out! (7) |
| EPICURUS | Philosopher of ancient Greece (341-270 BC) who believed that 'pleasure is the beginning and end of living happily' (8) |
| CHUBASCO | Violent thunder and lightning storm during the rainy season along the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America (8) |
| EDGE | "And Israel smote him with the ___ of the sword" (Num 21:2 |
| SEED | "I begin with the ___ of an emotion, a place, and then move from there" (Joy Harjo) |
| MOON | Lunar lunacy: In the Middle Ages, many believed that this giant night light could cause a person to turn into a vampire |
| SID | Doctors character whose patient believed that she was possessed by the devil (3,4) |
| VERE | Doctors character whose patient believed that she was possessed by the devil (3,4) |
| TONGUE | Myth-understanding: It was long believed that the ___ has four 23A zones, each of which separately senses sweet, sour, bitter or salty foods (However, biologists now know better) |
| POSTILLION | Drunken sot in passenger seat, traditional victim of a lightning strike? (10) |
| CHARGE | There's a lot of this in lightning storm (6) |
| THYSELF | Sonnet 92: But do thy worst to steal ___ away, / For term of life thou are assured mine, / And life no longer than thy love will stay, / For it depends upon that love of thine. |
| SICK | "I'm so ___ of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for!" ("Little Women," 2019) |
| THEORISE | Suppose the moon should appear above the horizon (8) |
