| GASLIGHTING | Term for psychological manipulation, that was Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2022 (11) |
| THEY | Singular pronoun that was Merriam-Webster's 2019 Word of the Year |
| 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 |
| CIVILENGINEERING | Tolerably polite act of manipulation that helps to build bridges |
| SHELLSHOCK | Term for psychological disturbance caused by war experiences first coined in 1915 (5,5) |
| OED | Reference work whose Word of the Year for 2022 was "goblin mode" (Abbr.) |
| GOBLIN | With 27 Across, Oxford's Word of the Year for 2022, defined as self-indulgent behavior |
| VOLODOMYR | With 19-Across, Time's Person of the Year for 2022 |
| BANNEDBOOKS | Merriam-Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary and "Where's Waldo?," once, surprisingly |
| REACTIONGIF | Animated image texted as a reply (and a new Merriam-Webster entry of 2021) |
| SAPIOSEXUAL | One who's attracted to highly intelligent people (and a new Merriam-Webster entry of 2021) |
| BLOG | Merriam-Webster's 2004 Word of the Year |
| SINGULARTHEY | Merriam-Webster's 2019 "Word of the Year" |
| POSTTRUTH | Political term that was the Oxford Dictionaries' 2016 Word of the Year |
| JOY | "Face With Tears of ___" (non-word that was named Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year in 2015) |
| QUEBECCITY | French-speaking metropolis that looked at bidding for 2022 and is considering a bid for 2030; it's cold enough but doesn't have a nearby mountain high enough for the Games' downhill events |
| SHRINKFLATION | The practice of selling less product for the same price (and a new Merriam-Webster entry of 2022) |
| GASLIGHT | Released in 1944, what film's name was adopted in the 1990s to describe psychological manipulation of a person? (8) |
| NEWS | Term that was named Collins' Word of the Year 2017 (4,4) |
| BECAUSE | Conjunction that was the American Dialect Society's 2013 Word of the Year |
