| 100% | MERVGRIFFIN | 11 | ... and 80-Across have mythological creatures as surnames |
| 45% | NEMEANLION | 10 | Mythological creature slayed and skinned by Heracles as the first of his twelve labours |
| 44% | MARKSPITZ | 9 | ... and 25-Across have "canine" surnames |
| 41% | OFFTOAGOODSTART | 15 | Having initial success … as suggested by the beginnings of 17-, 24-, 47- and 60-Across? |
| 39% | CHIMERA | 7 | Mythological creature described by Homer as "in the fore part a lion, in the hinder a serpent, and in the midst a goat" |
| 39% | ANGELS | 6 | Mythological creatures with halos and wings |
| 38% | BELVEDERE | 9 | Surname mispronounced as “Bumpersticker” and “Bellpepper,” among others, on an eighties sitcom |
| 37% | MINOTAUR | 8 | Mythological creature, bull's head and human body |
| 37% | RIGHTWHALE | 10 | Large sea creature such as the North Atlantic — and North Pacific — |
| 36% | THEREVIEWSAREIN | 15 | "Critics have spoken," as featured in 17-, 25-, 51- and 64-Across |
| 35% | SEASNAKE | 8 | Venomous marine creature of the Indian and Pacific Oceans such as the yellow-bellied — |
| 34% | COLEADS | 7 | Dench and Winslet, as 91 Across |
| 34% | AEI | 3 | Washington, DC-based think tank that currently has Paul Ryan and Paul Wolfowitz as scholars |
| 34% | ENTS | 4 | Tolkien creatures such as Treebeard and Longbough |
| 34% | CENTAUR | 7 | Mythical creature and dog have neat arrangement |
| 34% | CENTAUR | 7 | Mythical creature and mongrel have neat arrangement |
| 34% | TRON | 4 | Movie of 1982 that had cutting-edge computerized effects and starred Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn |
| 33% | EELS | 4 | Creatures that can have two sets of jaws and teeth |
| 33% | ANIMISM | 7 | The belief that objects and creatures have spirits |
| 33% | IMAC | 4 | Product promoted as having both "beauty" and "brains" |
| 32% | PARKER | 6 | Surname of the Sex and the City star known as SJP |
| 32% | BOOMORBUST | 10 | Having "very good" and "very bad" as the two possible outcomes |
| 32% | BALTIMOREORIOLE | 15 | 36-Across song from "To Have and Have Not" |
| 32% | HOWLITTLEWEKNOW | 15 | 36-Across song from "To Have and Have Not" |
| 32% | USMAPS | 6 | Graphics that typically have AK and HI as insets |
| 32% | URANUS | 6 | Planet in the Solar System that has 28 moons and that can become as cold as -320*F |
| 32% | MOTHRA | 6 | Giant moth-like creature featured in the "Godzilla" films as a good monster and protector of the Earth |
| 32% | NOTS | 4 | Haves and have-___ |
| 32% | COED | 4 | Like schools that have both boys and girls as students |
| 32% | PRIMATOLOGIST | 13 | Person such as 39-Across who studies apes and monkeys |