DOWN TO EARTH
Credit: LA Times Crossword
Sylvia Bursztyn and Barry Tunick  (adapted)

The answers to the clues below will have something in common.

1. Item "everything" often excludes
2. Podiatry concern
3. Pursue a goal, often with risks
4. Dance, metaphorically
5. Gum, cough, or lemon
6. Desert drifters
7. Very dark simile
8. Mosquitoes, at times
9. Wino, perhaps

Answers:

1. Kitchen sink
2. Fallen arches
3. Take the plunge
4. Trip the light fantastic
5. Drops
6. Tumbleweeds
7. Black as pitch
8. Dive bombers
9. Stumblebum