| RIZZ | Charming and stylish; Oxford's word of the year for 2023 (4) |
| DEBONAIR | Charming and stylish antiquarian obediently brought over some pieces |
| AUTHENTIC | *Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2023, whose increased usage is driven largely by concerns about AI; our starred theme entries won honorable mentions |
| GOBLIN | With 27 Across, Oxford's Word of the Year for 2022, defined as self-indulgent behavior |
| TAYLORSWIFT | Singer recently named Time's Person of the Year for 2023; five of her No. 1 hits are this puzzle's theme entries |
| VAX | Oxford Word of the Year for 2021 |
| NEWS | Term that was named Collins' Word of the Year 2017 (4,4) |
| ROT | Brain ___: 2024 Oxford Word of the Year |
| NAME | According to a report this week, a maximalist, neo-cowboy, or blue-green one of these will be on trend for 2023 babies |
| GOBLINMODE | Oxford Word of the Year 2022 |
| BLOG | Merriam-Webster's 2004 Word of the Year |
| THEY | 2015 American Dialect Society's word of the year |
| SYNE | Last word of the year, to many |
| CUTE | Charming and attractive (4) |
| CAMP | Initially charming and magical place is somewhat affected |
| KIPCHOGE | The winner of the Princess of Asturias Award for sports for 2023. (8) |
| NODEAL | Channel 4 game show being revived for 2023, with Stephen Mulhern hosting (2,4) |
| DEALOR | Channel 4 game show being revived for 2023, with Stephen Mulhern hosting (4,2) |
| WEBSTER | 'Authentic', the Merriam-___ 2023 Word of the Year |
| NEWYEAR | Were any changes made for 2023? (3,4) |
