| 100% | BEARWITHME | 10 | "Please be patient" … or a literal description of 15-, 28-, 39- and 52-Across? |
| 49% | FALLINGSTA | 10 | Wishful things? ... or a literal description of 16-, 17-, 32-, 44- and 60-Across |
| 49% | UNITEDNATIONS | 13 | Organization founded in 1945 ... or a literal description of 20-, 24- and 44-Across? |
| 45% | AMATTEROFTIME | 13 | Bound to happen sooner or later ... or a literal description of the ends of the answers to 20-, 28-, and 45-Across |
| 44% | SPLITPEAS | 9 | Soup legumes, or a phonetic description of 17-, 24-, 39-, and 53-Across |
| 44% | PLAYSWITHFIRE | 13 | Tempts fate . . . or a description of 19-, 22-, and 39-Across |
| 43% | SPRINGROLLS | 11 | Chinese appetizers ... or a punny description of 17-, 28-, 35- and 45-Across |
| 43% | SLIPONS | 7 | Loafers, e.g., or a lighthearted description of 17-, 28-, 49- and 65-Across |
| 43% | CATCHPHRASE | 11 | Commonplace utterance ... or a description of 18-, 28- and 49-Across? |
| 42% | ODDSANDENDS | 11 | Miscellany ... or a description of the final words in 15-, 23-, 30-, 38- and 43-Across |
| 42% | DOESNTHOLDWATER | 15 | Isn't credible, or a literal description of 17-, 22-, 35-, or 46-Across? |
| 42% | MIXEDBAG | 8 | Assortment ... or a description of 32-, 39- and 42-Across? |
| 41% | BONEYM | 6 | "Rasputin" band... or a description of 6 and 14 Across? |
| 41% | NEWSPAPERCOLUMN | 15 | Place to express an opinion ... or a literal description of 3-, 7-, 9- and 21-Down? |
| 40% | FASTFOODS | 9 | Fares at McDonald's and KFC … or a literal description of 17-, 29- and 47-Across |
| 40% | TSTORMS | 7 | Weather events with lightning, briefly ... or a description of 1 and 13 Across |
| 40% | ITSTIMETOROLL | 13 | "Let's go!" ... or a hint for the ends of 20-, 28-, 41- and 52-Across |
| 40% | ITMEANSALOT | 11 | “That’s so nice of you” . . . and a literal description of the last word in 17-, 21-, 39-, or 57-Across |
| 40% | SIGHTUNSEEN | 11 | Literal description of something that is 18-, 24-, 40- or 49-Across |
| 39% | THATSMYJAM | 10 | "I love this song!" … or a doubly apt description of 17-, 28- and 46-Across |
| 39% | BOGGLE | 6 | Flummox ... or a classic word game represented by the central grid of shaded squares, in which 15-, 17- and 55-Across can be found |
| 39% | BACKUPPLAN | 10 | Safety net, of a sort, and a literal feature of 17-, 23-, 39- and 52-Across |
| 39% | THATSMYJAM | 10 | “I love this song!” . . . or a hint to the starts of 17-, 27-, 39-, and 52-Across |
| 39% | WATERSLIDES | 11 | Summer amusements ... or a literal description of three answers in this puzzle |
| 38% | BROADCOMEDIES | 13 | Zany movies, or a literal description of the contents of the spread-out circles |
| 38% | ADBLOCK | 7 | Popular browser extension ... or a literal description of four black squares in this puzzle |
| 37% | TOBEFAIR | 8 | "Admittedly …," or, when said aloud, a punny description of 18-, 24-, 39- and 49-Across |
| 37% | DEFENSIVELINES | 14 | Spots for some tackles, or a description of 20-, 24- and 41-Across |
| 37% | COUNTERFEITCOIN | 15 | Slug, or a hint to the starts of 17-, 28- and 46-Across |
| 36% | DOWN | 4 | With 40-Down, how rain falls ... or a literal description of the answers to the four themed clues |