| MARIAMARIA | #1 hit this year by a "Smooth" guy |
| ROSEMARYCLOONEY | Singer with the 1954 #1 hit "This Ole House" |
| RASHMASUM | Casualty medic who was abducted last year by a violent street gang (4,5) |
| PATENTLEATHER | Type of shoe or boot material characterised by a smooth, shiny protective layer (6,7) |
| PAPERCHAIN | Decoration acquired over the years by a press magnate? (5,5) |
| FRANKMURKOWSKI | Alaska governor who filled a vacant U.S. Senate seat this year by appointing his own daughter |
| OUTOFHERE | I'm A Celebrity... Get Me ___, show hosted this year by Dec Donnelly with Holly Willoughby (3,2,4) |
| CAUGHT | Annual competition won earlier this year by wire-haired dachshund Maisie (6) |
| OMAN | Open on European Tour won this year by Sami Valimaki (4) |
| GRANDNATIONAL | Race won this year by Sam Waley-Cohen riding Noble Yeats |
| EXPORTS | ___ Leadership Group, set up earlier this year by the Rail Supply Group (7) |
| KATEFORBES | She made history this year by being the first woman to deliver the Scottish budget (4,6) |
| OSCAR | Award won earlier this year by Ke Huy Quan and Guillermo del Toro |
| KATIEBOULTER | British number one in women's singles knocked out of Wimbledon this year by number two Harriet Dart (5,7) |
| GLASSY | Transparently smooth guy heartlessly taking girl in |
| OILMAN | Smooth guy ___ from Texas, perhaps? (6) |
| GLOSSY | Smooth guy, gutted, accepts defeat |
| ANNALS | A record of events year by year (6) |
| HIGHC | A soprano may hit this |
| WITH | Herb Alpert hit, This Guy's In Love ... You |
