I pulled out 47D Prepare, in a way, as chicken: DEBONE. Why do boned and deboned mean the same thing? I got a pair of boning knives at Costco Business Center years ago. They are thin and sharp. Now I have a bunch of cutting boards, as you can read about in my woodworking blog. I finished another one this evening.

Theme!

48A Display of mentalism … or a hint to this puzzle’s shaded squares: SPOONBENDING. I don’t know that to be mentalism. Is it mentalism? I mean, maybe. I don’t know. Seems more like telekinesis, but maybe that falls under the umbrella of mentalism. I’ll check with my sources and get back to you on that.

Finished this one in 7:54.