| 100% | REGGAE | 6 | "A vehicle to carry a message of freedom and peace," per Bob Marley |
| 33% | DISAPPEARINGINK | 15 | Medium for secret messages, and a hint to making sense of 12 Down answers |
| 33% | BLANKCHECK | 10 | Complete freedom ... and a hint to each half of the answer to each starred clue |
| 33% | BADSANTA | 8 | 2003 Billy Bob Thornton title role ... and a hint to each set of puzzle circles |
| 32% | MIGRATORY | 9 | *37a was a type of ___ (nomadic) bird that traveled long distances and was used to send messages. |
| 32% | ROSTRUM | 7 | Platform used to carry a camera in film and TV |
| 31% | ANDREADWORKIN | 13 | “Intercourse” writer who envisioned a “road to freedom open to women, men, and that emerging majority, the rest of us” |
| 31% | RADIOSAMIGOS | 12 | Transmits a message to Pancho and pals? |
| 31% | LUST | 4 | Emotion that seems to end a lot of established and promising careers |
| 31% | SEEMEAFTERCLASS | 15 | Ominous message at the top of a returned assignment ... and a hint to the beginning of four answers in this puzzle? |
| 31% | THEFORCE | 8 | "A mixture of what appears to be ESP and early Christian faith," per a 1977 New York Times film review |
| 31% | HOPE | 4 | Bob ___, legendary actor and entertainer from "Road to Bali" who may be a "glass-half-full" kind of guy |
| 31% | DOUBLEPARK | 10 | Leave one's vehicle in a traffic lane, and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues |
| 30% | LOVENOTE | 8 | Mushy message, and the end of a sequence that progresses through the answers to the starred clues |
| 30% | READTHISGRIDINBRAILLE | 21 | How to get a message out of the boxes |
| 30% | SLIPPERY | 8 | Wet and slimy, hard to get a grip of |
| 30% | WORKCATION | 10 | Term popularized during the pandemic to mean a combination of holidays and remote jobs |
| 30% | MATSUTAKE | 9 | A rare variety of mushroom prized in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine which can fetch up to $1,000 per kg |
| 30% | GASMAN | 6 | One who wears fireproof clothes, carries up to 95 pounds and is a crucial part of the pit crew |
| 30% | LOVE | 4 | Feeling that involves a dopamine rush for a sense of affection and belonging to another |
| 29% | ROMANTASY | 9 | Portmanteau for a “genre of swords and soulmates,” per the Guardian |
| 29% | WRING | 5 | Twist and squeeze a towel to get water out of it |
| 29% | SONS | 4 | Ziggy, Stephen, and Damian, to Bob Marley |
| 29% | ELOPERS | 7 | Visitors to a justice of the peace |
| 29% | DEARREADERS | 11 | Start of a message to magazine subscribers |
| 29% | SPAM | 4 | Send a bunch of messages to, say |
| 29% | HELEN | 5 | ___ Keller, first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts |
| 29% | GOODNIGHT | 9 | "... and to all a ___!" (end of "A Visit from St. Nicholas") |
| 29% | ONELOVE | 7 | Subtitle of a forthcoming Bob Marley bio-pic |
| 29% | SINGINGBOTHWAYS | 15 | Ratting to the cops and carrying a tune? |