Each line in the diagrams is an anagram of the line above, minus one letter. Clues for the missing words are given in alphabetical order. The answers to the clues are:
- AFRO
- AS
- CARS
- CLEAREST
- DISCOUNT
- ETHICS
- FAROE
- FEMORAL
- FOR
- HEIST
- HIS
- HYSTERIC
- IS
- IT
- LEAFWORM
- LOAFER
- OF
- REACTS
- RICHEST
- SAC
- SCARE
- SCARLET
- SUCTION
- SUIT
- THIS
- TIS
- TUNICS
- UNITS
Once completed, the grids will look like this:
From top to bottom, the highlighted letters spell out the answer SIFT. This puzzle format reminded me of a sifter, as the letters one by one fall out to leave the answer.