| 100% | HATERADE | 8 | "Beverage" downed by a harsh critic |
| 54% | HATERADE | 8 | Metaphorical drink for a harsh critic |
| 51% | LADEN | 5 | Weighed down by a load |
| 50% | TROY | 4 | City let down by a horse |
| 50% | LEGACY | 6 | Something handed down by a predecessor |
| 50% | TREE | 4 | Something chopped down by a lumberjack |
| 49% | REG | 3 | Rule laid down by a commission: Abbr. |
| 49% | SOD | 3 | Ground cover laid down by a landscaper |
| 49% | SENTENCE | 8 | Prison term handed down by a judge |
| 49% | CTRL | 4 | Button usually held down by a pinkie |
| 49% | TIE | 3 | Formal neckwear, often held down by a pin |
| 48% | TEN | 3 | Number of bowling pins knocked down by a strike |
| 47% | TOPTENLIST | 10 | Movies ordered by a critic, perhaps? |
| 47% | IRAN | 4 | Land led by a 26 Down |
| 47% | HAHA | 4 | Sound welcomed by a 9 Down |
| 46% | REVIEW | 6 | Piece by a film critic |
| 45% | INTEL | 5 | Info obtained by a 62 Down, for short |
| 44% | HERESLOOKINGATYOUQUID | 21 | Comment by a Brit down to his last coin? |
| 44% | ICE | 3 | It cools down a beverage |
| 41% | TEA | 3 | A popular beverage, sold by Tetley for one |
| 41% | THIRST | 6 | Feeling that's remedied by drinking a beverage |
| 41% | CROPPING | 8 | Editing a photo by cutting down the sides |
| 41% | AUTOREPEAT | 10 | Feature activated by holding a computer key down |
| 41% | BADOFFICIALS | 12 | Start of a comment by critic George Jean Nathan |
| 41% | REVIEW | 6 | Report of a movie or a book by critics |
| 41% | WHITTLING | 9 | Carving a piece of wood by shaving it down |
| 41% | MOPPING | 7 | Wiping down a kitchen floor hit by liquid spills |
| 40% | MIX | 3 | "Love Is a ___ Tape" (memoir by rock critic Rob Sheffield) |
| 40% | TAPE | 4 | "Love Is a Mix ___" (memoir by rock critic Rob Sheffield) |
| 40% | RATE | 4 | What critics might do to a movie by giving stars |