| FOUNDFAMILY | Closely knit community that provides social support, or what 16-, 23-, 36-, and 46-Across contain? |
| BUBBLETEAMS | Major topic of conversation leading up to NCAA's Selection Sunday ... and what 16-, 23-, 36-, and 46-Across all contain? |
| SILENCEBREAKERS | 2017 TIME honorees ... or 16-, 23-, 36- and 46-Across, based on letters that bookend them? |
| NINECONSONANTS | What 46-Across contains |
| CLAN | Closely knit group |
| INGROUP | Closely knit bunch batting, mature but losing wicket (2-5) |
| TIGHTLY | Try light right away in a closely-knit way (7) |
| FROZENFOUR | NCAA ice hockey finals ... or what 18-, 23-, 36- and 50-Across contain? |
| INNERTUBE | Inflatable river ride, and what 18-, 24-, 38- or 51-Across contain? |
| RUNINCIRCLES | Waste one's time ... or what 20-, 27- and 42-Across contain? |
| BLACKANDWHITE | Like a zebra, or two words that can precede the starts of 19-, 24-, 36- and 46- Across |
| MANKEEPING | Emotional and social support a woman provides for her partner, and an alternate title for this puzzle |
| ACDC | "Highway to Hell" rock group ... or a hint to electrical switches found in 16-, 23-, 36-, |
| MEMESTOCK | Investment popularized on social media, and what the long Across answers contain? |
| GATHERER | A hunter-___ is a member of a community that hunts and harvests wild food (8) |
| OPEDCOLUMN | Place for airing an opinion ... or what five of this puzzle's Down answers contain? |
| AWORKINPROGRESS | Unfinished project ... or, literally, what the answers to the eight starred clues contain? |
| BLACKTWITTER | Online community that created the #icantbreathe and #sayhername hashtags |
| BOOKTOK | Social-media community that helped propel Rebecca Yarros's "Fourth Wing" to No. 1 on the Times best-seller list (July, 2023) |
| GATED | The sort of community that feels threatened by some rioting at Edinburgh (5) |
