| WEIRD | What many think events in the area spelled out in the puzzle's diagonal are |
| SHIPS | Items that oddly vanished in the area specified by this puzzle's diagonal |
| STEPPES | Forestless areas spelled using only the letters in "pest" |
| PLAN | Think events through |
| BROLIN | Josh who played the supervillain who collected the 117 Across (this supervillain is spelled out in the puzzle's circled squares) |
| TITLEIX | Gender equality law represented by this puzzle's diagonals |
| SUPERBOWL | Event that could feature any of the athletes found in five squares in this puzzle ... and a Feb. 9, 2025, event featuring the athletes spelled out in the first letters of five Across entries and then |
| SHESCORES | Second half of a sports announcing phrase spelled using only the letters in "chores": 2 wds. (Theme answer: The circled letters anagram to one of the words in the puzzle title.) |
| LIPPSINC | Tar Heel St. city named for a part of the mouth with a trident-shaped Greek letter written on it? ... or, when parsed differently, the band with the No. 1 hit spelled out in the circled squares |
| MOCKINGBIRD | Creature in the title of a classic 1960 novel; the author's name is spelled out in the circled letters |
| FOOLAROUND | Engage in some horseplay ... or a hint to the words spelled out in the circles |
| SCIENTIST | Person who would wear the article of clothing spelled out in the first letters of the starred answers |
| SILENTAUCTION | Fundraising event ... or what's spelled out in the last words of the starred clues' answers |
| ROSWELL | Near which town in New Mexico do many think a UFO crashed in 1947? (7) |
| INFANT | One delivered by the labor specialist spelled out in the circled letters that touch six dividing black squares in this puzzle |
| ARMS | The right to keep them is spelled out in the Second Amendment |
| MOUNTAINTOP | Peak, and a synonym of the word spelled out in the circled peaks' highest points |
| SOS | Letters spelled out in the sand on a deserted island, in comics |
| ASHOWABOUTNOTHING | Description of the TV series spelled out in the circled squares (as well as this puzzle's theme) |
| HAND | Poker holding ... like the one spelled out in the letters that cut this puzzle's circled cards |
