| 100% | ISLAND | 6 | *Sun-soaked vacation spot in the sea with a hushed "s" in its name |
| 56% | WHALE | 5 | Big blower in the sea with a "hoppy beverage" hidden in its name |
| 55% | KNEAD | 5 | *Work the dough in rhythmic motion, with a hushed "k" in its name |
| 49% | TALK | 4 | *Chitchat action with a hushed "l" in its name |
| 48% | BULLPEN | 7 | Warm-up spot for baseball pitchers with a "bull" in its name |
| 48% | BOB | 3 | "___ the Builder," popular cartoon with a palindromic name in its title |
| 47% | CASTLE | 6 | *Medieval king's residence with a moat and a hushed "t" in its name |
| 46% | IRAN | 4 | Tehran's land with a verb hidden in its name |
| 45% | FUNNYBONE | 9 | Spot in the elbow with a nerve that's "shocking" when struck: 2 wds. |
| 45% | STE | 3 | Sault ___ Marie, city in Canada's Ontario that shares its name with a city in the USA |
| 44% | CROUCHEND | 9 | Area in the London Borough of Haringey that shares its name with a 1980 Stephen King short story |
| 44% | ISLE | 4 | It's a dot in the sea |
| 43% | EDINBURGH | 9 | A town in Indiana that shares its name with the capital of Scotland |
| 43% | AMSTERDAM | 9 | A city in Missouri, which shares its name with the capital of the Netherlands |
| 43% | BERET | 5 | Painter's floppy French headwear, with a silent "t" in its name |
| 43% | APPLE | 5 | Tech company that shares a name with the fruit in its logo |
| 43% | BLUEBERRY | 9 | A small fruit with a primary color in its name |
| 43% | BULLSEYE | 8 | Archer's target point with a "bull" in its name |
| 43% | IRAN | 4 | Country with a verb hidden in its name |
| 43% | SAMADAMS | 8 | Beer with a palindromic address in its name |
| 43% | ACDC | 4 | Band with a lightning bolt in its name |
| 43% | GRAND | 5 | The ___ Canyon, Arizona's rocky attraction with an "enormous" synonym in its name |
| 43% | RHESUS | 6 | Animal that shares its name with a king of Thrace in the "Iliad" |
| 42% | DEBUT | 5 | Actor's first appearance, with a silent "t" in its name |
| 42% | IONIAN | 6 | Greek sea with lots of vowels in its name |
| 42% | LAMBDA | 6 | ___ Legal (group with a Greek letter in its name) |
| 42% | KINGSTONTRIO | 12 | Longtime musical group with a world capital in its name |
| 42% | IMPALA | 6 | Tame ___ (psychedelic rock band with a horned animal in its name) |
| 41% | JEST | 4 | It's said with a poke in the ribs |
| 41% | OUT | 3 | It's said with a thumb in the air |