| Answer | Crossword Clue |
|---|---|
| PRETAX | Before government cuts |
| SHA | Syllable before "boom" in a classic Crew-Cuts song |
| PRETAX | Before the government takes its bite |
| SECULAR | Like Iran's government before the Ayatollah |
| PRIVATEER | Non-government vessel permitted to war on enemy, before 1856. |
| ATEAM | Crack commando unit sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit, before escaping to the Los Angeles underground where today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune, with "the" |
