Daily Themed Crossword December 24, 2023, Clues and Answers

ACROSS

• (9/10) Let’s put a twinkly ___ on the top of your Christmas tree for that final touch!
  STAR
• Pilates class need
  MAT
• Rub the wrong way
  IRK
• Magician’s cry after the big reveal: Hyph.
  TADA
• The Grand ___ Opry
  OLE
• Fabricate facts
  LIE
• Very small amount (anagram of bird)
  DRIB
• Pub quantity
  PINT
• Seat at a campfire maybe
  LOG
• ___ story (tragic tale)
  SOB
• Birds that fly in a V-formation
  GEESE
• Popular Christmas carol by Franz Gruber and Joseph Mohr…and a hint to solve 28a 41a 52a 6d and 35d: 2 wds.
  SILENTNIGHT
• What a YouTube Premium subscription lets you avoid for short
  ADS
• Almost unobtainable?
  RARE
• *Sun-soaked vacation spot in the sea with a hushed s in its name
  ISLAND
• Fluffy eggy brunch dish
  OMELET
• Sparkling jeweled headpiece
  TIARA
• Ho ___ Minh City Vietnam
  CHI
• Incantation opener?
  ABRA
• Internet messaging pioneer: Abbr.
  AOL
• Shiny lip application
  GLOSS
• *Work the dough in rhythmic motion with a hushed k in its name
  KNEAD
• ___-Hulk: Attorney at Law
  SHE
• The Suicide Squad actor and comedian Davidson
  PETE
• Partner of ready and willing
  ABLE
• Android alternative
  IOS
• *Chitchat action with a hushed l in its name
  TALK
• Said as a farewell
  BADE
• Teacher’s favorite say
  PET
• Pushing Daisies actor Pace
  LEE
• Orange-fleshed tuber
  YAM

DOWN

• The S in EST for short
  STD
• Covers as a street with black goo
  TARS
• ___ Amigo (Goodbye friend!)
  ADIOS
• Torah teacher
  RABBI
• Tool for a wet floor
  MOP
• *Straightens up while keeping the g hushed
  ALIGNS
• Core principle or belief say
  TENET
• Against the law say
  ILLEGAL
• ___ de Janeiro Brazilian port city
  RIO
• Barrel in a taproom
  KEG
• Perfect score
  TEN
• Courtly address for a monarch
  SIRE
• Popular singer ___ Del Rey
  LANA
• ___ Byrnes of 77 Sunset Strip
  EDD
• European realm until 1806: Abbr.
  HRE
• Vietnamese New Year celebration
  TET
• Give ___ thought! (Consider!): 2 wds.
  ITA
• Brother or sister for short
  SIB
• Adjective for Jupiter or a blue whale
  LARGEST
• Shrunken Central Asian sea
  ARAL
• Aha! kin?
  OHO
• Moo juice
  MILK
• *Medieval king’s residence with a moat and a hushed t in its name
  CASTLE
• Make a choice with for
  OPT
• Mammal that claps for you
  SEAL
• Seize as a criminal
  NAB
• Online auction giant
  EBAY
• Alan of M*A*S*H
  ALDA
• As you ___ fit (As it suits you)
  DEEM
• Nurse in a bar?
  SIP
• Clod-chopping tool
  HOE
• Squeeze out as a living
  EKE