| SPIRITANIMALS | Creatures who, according to some cultures, guide and protect us |
| ATHENA | Goddess who, according to some accounts, was born fully formed from Zeus's head |
| PARAPET | Thanks to paper we have the bank to protect us |
| DEFENDERS | Ed returns to the ones by the fire leaving the others to protect us (9) |
| EEO | Law designed to protect US employees from employment discrimination |
| APES | Creatures who were told to get their damned, dirty hands off Charlton Heston on a planet in some fut |
| DERANGE | Craze brings guide and ranger together, to some extent |
| RECIPEBOOK | Kitchen guide ... and where to find the starts of the answers to starred clues |
| SHELTERS | Find structures that protect us from the weather, lest hers collapses (8) |
| SINISTER | Latin word for "left-handed" that came to mean "evil," reflecting a historical bias against left-handers in some cultures |
| LAWYER | 'One who protects us against robbers by taking away the temptation': H.L. Mencken |
| FAIRYRINGS | Circular mushroom formations that have supernatural associations in some cultures |
| LABRET | Piece of shell,bone etc. inserted into the lip in some cultures (6) |
| NOD | Gesture that means "no" in some cultures |
| BROOM | In some cultures, a couple jump over a what at their wedding ceremony? (5) |
| OPERAS | So here's how to reap some culture with them (6) |
| OPERA | Mr Cooper attempts to provide some culture (5) |
| ETS | Creatures who aren't from Earth: Abbr. |
| MUPPETS | Creatures who made a name for themselves on TV's Sesame Street (7) |
| GIRAFFES | Long-necked creatures who graze on trees |
