| Kind of surgery for the eyes |
LASIK |
| Leaning |
BIAS |
| Loser in a staring contest |
FIRSTONETOBLINK |
| Lustrous black |
RAVEN |
| Marie Antoinette, par exemple |
REINE |
| Mex. misses |
SRTAS |
| Monopoly token |
IRON |
| Not worth ___ |
AFIG |
| One of the first to raise a hand, usually |
YEA |
| One who's late to adopt the latest |
OLDFOGY |
| Pass |
ENACT |
| Philosopher Rand |
AYN |
| Quarrel (with) |
SPAR |
| Real ___ |
MCCOY |
| Scented gift |
LEI |
| Secretary of state during the War of 1812 |
MONROE |
| See 23-Across |
COMES |
| Setting for 'La Traviata' |
PARIS |
| Sinn ___ |
FEIN |
| Siouan speaker |
OTOE |
| Soak |
STEEP |
| Stewpot |
OLLA |
| Strikes out |
DELES |
| Sturdy feller? |
AXE |
| Suffix with land or sea |
SCAPE |
| Temper, as metal |
ANNEAL |
| The end |
OMEGA |
| The ___ Nugget, Alaska's oldest newspaper |
NOME |
| Tolkien's talking trees |
ENTS |
| Type choice: Abbr. |
ITAL |
| Unfeeling nature ... or a literal hint to 19-, 31- and 38-Across |
HEARTOFSTONE |
| Vaccine target |
POLIO |
| Vegan's protein source |
TOFU |
| Visitor from afar |
ALIEN |
| When someone 27-Across |
ARRIVAL |
| Without question |
BYFAR |