| Steps on a ladder | 17 |
| Ladder steps | 12 |
| Steps up or down | 16 |
| Fire escape features | 20 |
| Crosspieces between chair legs | 30 |
| Steps to success? | 17 |
| Stepping places | 15 |
| Paths to success? | 17 |
| Levels, metaphorically | 22 |
| Ladder components | 17 |
| "Kickin' Out the ___" Ken Will Morton & the Wholly Ghosts | 75 |
| Written in mystical letters | 27 |
| Like some old inscriptions | 26 |
| Like Old Norse writing | 22 |
| Like old Norse alphabets | 24 |
| Having secret meaning | 21 |
| ___ alphabet | 12 |
| Pertaining to an old Germanic alphabet | 38 |
| Of Finnish poetry | 17 |
| Of ancient writings | 19 |
| Of an ancient alphabet | 22 |
| Mysterious, as some old inscriptions | 36 |
| Like the futhark alphabet | 25 |
| Like the Elder Futhark "alphabet" | 43 |
| Like some tattooed characters | 29 |
| Like some old Germanic alphabets | 32 |
| Like some old alphabets | 23 |
| Like some ancient inscriptions | 30 |
| Like some ancient characters | 28 |
| Like mysterious writing | 23 |
| Like an old Norse poem | 22 |
| Having secret import | 20 |
| Having mystical meaning | 23 |
| Having magical meaning | 22 |
| Having a secret meaning | 23 |
| Ancient kind of alphabet | 24 |
| "In a sort of ___ rhyme": Poe | 39 |
| Haul off to jail | 16 |
| Disagreeable encounter | 22 |
| Take downtown | 13 |
| Arrest, in slang | 16 |
| Unpleasant interaction | 22 |
| Unpleasant encounter | 20 |
| Take downtown, say | 18 |
| Small to-do | 11 |
| Encounter with the law | 22 |
| Brush with the law | 18 |
| Tense encounter | 15 |
| Take to the station | 19 |
| Take to jail | 12 |
| Haul to the station house | 25 |
| Drop by quickly | 15 |
| Drop by briefly | 15 |
| Bit of a scrap | 14 |
| Arrest a crook | 14 |
| Angry encounter | 15 |
| Confrontations | 14 |
| Disagreeable encounters | 23 |
| Clashes, as with the law | 24 |
| Brushes with the law | 20 |
| Bodyguard or decoy's task, sometimes | 40 |
| Remove players' obstacles | 29 |
| One way to block defenders, in football | 39 |
| Create a distraction | 20 |
| Bodyguard's task | 20 |
| Meet unexpectedly | 17 |
| Come into sudden contact with | 29 |
| Meet casually | 13 |
| Chance to meet | 14 |
| What relay anchors do | 21 |
| Embodiment of a footrace? | 25 |
| Hall rug | 8 |
| Marathon participant | 20 |
| Sled blade | 10 |
| Skate blade | 11 |
| Narrow rug | 10 |
| "Homestar ___" (popular Internet toon) | 48 |
| Track-meet participant | 22 |
| Smuggler | 8 |
| Sleigh part | 11 |
| Sled piece | 10 |
| Sled part | 9 |
| Sled feature | 12 |
| Salazar or Roe | 14 |
| On second thought, make it a grim futuristic epic: "Zorro, the Gay Blade..." | 86 |
| Meet participant | 16 |
| Long, narrow carpet | 19 |
| Long rug | 8 |
| Hallway rug | 11 |
| Hall floor cover | 16 |
| Baseballer on base | 18 |
| Alberto Salazar, e.g. | 21 |
| 400-meter participant | 21 |
| One who's halfway home? | 27 |
| Second-place finisher | 21 |
| Silver winner | 13 |
| Silver medalist | 15 |
| Second-place contestant | 23 |
| Second-place contender | 22 |
| Place placer | 12 |