Possible Clues:

• A bony bit between the eyes shows cut
• Concentrate using a spanner?
• Get old, enthralling book on free contract
• Tighten up, possibly using a spanner
• Article by poet laureate cut short? Just so
• A place where we'd find captain's contract
• Shorten a structure across a river
• Shorten, like a dictionary
• Contract could be a game of cards
• A game of tricks cut short