| 100% | HUNG | 4 | "The stockings were ___ by the chimney with care ..." |
| 82% | CHIMNEY | 7 | "The stockings were hung by the ___ with care ..." |
| 51% | ENDUPINLAST | 11 | With 73-Across, be beaten by the rest of the field |
| 50% | MADLIB | 6 | Story with blanks to be filled in by the reader |
| 49% | CEMENTSHOES | 11 | Things that may be worn by someone sleeping with the fishes |
| 48% | AMELIA | 6 | Joni Mitchell song with the lyric "She was swallowed by the sky" |
| 48% | WHOKILLED | 9 | With 59-Across, old English nursery rhyme being investigated by the detectives in this puzzle |
| 48% | DUDS | 4 | Milk ___, caramel candies coated with chocolate which are made by The Hershey Company |
| 48% | SHELLCOMPANIES | 14 | Corporations with little business activity, and what are formed by the circled letters |
| 47% | INTERNATIONALE | 14 | Left-wing anthem whose lyrics were written by the anarchist Eugène Pottier, with “The” |
| 47% | NEED | 4 | "All You ___ Is Love," 1967 song by The Beatles that starts with the chorus |
| 46% | WHOLEHOG | 8 | With 49-Across, Southern cooking tradition that can be described by the transformation happening in this puzzle |
| 46% | JOE | 3 | ___ Morgan, second baseman with the jersey number 8 that was retired by the Cincinnati Reds |
| 46% | SONOFMAN | 8 | Magritte work in which a face is obscured by an apple, with The |
| 46% | SPREADTHEWEALTH | 15 | Be generous with one's good fortune, as depicted by the movement of this puzzle's circled letters |
| 46% | AMELIA | 6 | Joni Mitchell song with the lyrics "A ghost of aviation / She was swallowed by the sky" |
| 46% | SHE | 3 | "___ Walks in Beauty," poem by Lord Byron with the line "...A heart whose love is innocent!" |
| 45% | AFRICA | 6 | Continent with Nigeria that is the subject of a song by Toto |
| 45% | DOMBEYANDSON | 12 | Novel by Charles Dickens that deals with the story of a shipping firm owner who is frustrated at not having a son to take care of the business: 3 wds. |
| 45% | PETE | 4 | With 27-Down, his #14 has been informally retired by the Reds (although his own son later wore it) |
| 45% | HOPE | 4 | "___ is the thing with feathers," poem by Emily Dickinson with the line "...It asked a crumb of me." |
| 45% | SWIMMING | 8 | "___ with Sharks," TV series starring Kiernan Shipka and Diane Kruger that was inspired by the eponymous 1994 film |
| 45% | HANDS | 5 | *Found on a package: ___ holding a box, image indicating that the object must be handled with care |
| 45% | MABARKER | 8 | Midwest woman with four gangster sons who was gunned down by the FBI in 1935: 2 wds. |
| 45% | RIO | 3 | With 21-Down, John Wayne western that was the last film directed by Howard Hawks |
| 45% | DOANDROIDSDREAM | 15 | With 20-Across, story by 42-Across on which the movie "Blade Runner" is based |
| 45% | WECANREMEMBERIT | 15 | With 59-Across, story by 42-Across on which the movie "Total Recall" is based |
| 45% | REAL | 4 | With 27-Across, novel by 42-Across that was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize |
| 45% | BETH | 4 | A hit song by Kiss, which was performed with the New York Philharmonic |
| 45% | JUMPINJACKFLASH | 15 | 1968 hit with the line "I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag" |