| GROWINGUP | "Losing some illusions ... perhaps to acquire others," per Virginia Woolf |
| EDGE | "Losing My ___" (debut single for LCD Soundsystem) |
| MOUSETRAP | It's been running for a long time, plan to acquire other routes (9) |
| OUTTRAY | Make better attempt perhaps to acquire a desktop accessory |
| FINISH | Flounder perhaps to acquire home that's complete |
| OPTICAL | Like some illusions, best when using the other extreme of magic (7) |
| OPARTIST | Creator of some illusions |
| NOONE | Who is "too small to make a difference," per a Greta Thunberg book title |
| EMO | "Music's most maligned genre," per critic Tom Connick |
| DATA | "The world's most valuable resource," per The Economist |
| BEEGEES | "Britain's first family of harmony," per Brian Wilson |
| CHESS | "The gymnasium of the mind," per Blaise Pascal |
| EDSEL | "The motor industry's Titanic," per a 1994 book |
| JAZZ | "The big brother of the blues," per B.B. King |
| ART | "A jealous mistress," per Emerson |
| HATRED | The "vice of narrow souls," per Balzac |
| DURAG | "Anyone who has ever worn a ___ spells it '___,'" per a 2018 New York Times article |
| SEX | "Emotion in motion," per Mae West |
| OVERFILLING | Losing some from the top, love for a change to have a pinion (11) |
| PROMPTER | One helping the cast dance and become exhausted, losing some energy (8) |
