| TRAGIC | A good crit could turn out to be dire, at one stage (6) |
| DERMATITIS | Skin problem that could be almost dire at times |
| DISRAELI | Ex-PM's dodgy deal is dire at heart (8) |
| NADIR | Participants' stamina dire at lowest point |
| ENIGMA | Imagine one leaves what could turn out to be a puzzle (6) |
| DOGLEG | Irish setter at one stage is going around the bend, of course (6) |
| STRAIT | More than one of this channel could be dire (6) |
| REREAD | Have another look at what could turn out to be dearer (6) |
| DAUBED | Badly painted, it could turn out to be a dud (6) |
| DEGREE | At one stage some are made greedy (6) |
| PEGLEG | Long John Silver was taught in Irish schools reportedly at one stage (3,3) |
| KNIGHT | see 5dn, Singer who was backed by the Pips, at one stage featuring her brother and two cousins |
| GLADYS | and 50dn, Singer who was backed by the Pips, at one stage featuring her brother and two cousins |
| STRICT | Harsh crits dealt out to original teachers (6) |
| OIDIUM | Abhorrence about one stage in fungal development (6) |
| ESSAYS | Lit crit pieces |
| ASIDE | One team had something to say, at one stage (5) |
| AGELIMIT | Turns up, Timothy at one stage had a ceiling that was restrictive to the youngsters, for example (3,5) |
| OUTWARD | At last, pull up away from home at one stage of the journey (7) |
| SCAPEGOATS | At one stage, cops managed to put the blame on others (10) |
