| 100% | BODY | 4 | ___ mullet, term popularized during the pandemic to mean a combination of a nice top and ugly bottoms worn during work video calls |
| 53% | WORKCATION | 10 | Term popularized during the pandemic to mean a combination of holidays and remote jobs |
| 42% | DELIVERY | 8 | Contactless ___, term popularized during the pandemic to mean a new way of receiving packages |
| 41% | HOUR | 4 | Virtual happy ___, term popularized during the pandemic to mean drinking "quarantinis" on video calls |
| 36% | ZOOM | 4 | ___ raiding, term popularized during the pandemic to refer to uninvited intrusions during video calls |
| 33% | POD | 3 | Learning ___, term popularized during the pandemic to mean online schools or classes |
| 33% | NORMAL | 6 | New ___, term popularized during the pandemic to indicate an acceptance of the current situation |
| 25% | MAINDIAGONAL | 12 | Term in linear algebra for the series of entries in a square matrix extending from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner |
| 25% | PRIM | 4 | Wearing a long dress and a collar buttoned to the top, maybe |
| 24% | MARGINS | 7 | Spaces on the top, bottom and sides of a page |
| 24% | PARTYINTHEBACK | 14 | Tongue-in-cheek description of a mullet, and of the answers to the starred clues |
| 24% | APE | 3 | Word that means to imitate someone and is also the name of a primate |
| 23% | YOUREOUT | 8 | Call at home, and a clue to the ends of 17-, 24-, 40- and 52-Across |
| 23% | TAINTEDLOVE | 11 | 1981 Top 10 hit for Soft Cell, and a feature of the answers to the starred clues? |
| 23% | NOVA | 4 | "Super" follower to mean the explosion of a star |
| 23% | PRIM | 4 | Wearing an ankle-length dress and white blouse with a collar buttoned to the top, maybe |
| 22% | SEEMEAFTERCLASS | 15 | Ominous message at the top of a returned assignment ... and a hint to the beginning of four answers in this puzzle? |
| 22% | HAMMEROUTAWIN | 13 | Work really hard for victory ... and a hint to the start of 20-, 31- and 39-Across |
| 22% | BEDHEAD | 7 | Messy hair in the morning, and a hint to the tops of the theme answers |
| 22% | SONY | 4 | Tech giant that originally got its name from a combination of the Latin word for sound and a slang term for a young boy |
| 22% | YOUMIGHTTHINK | 13 | The Cars Top 10 hit whose video features 44-Across as a housefly (and was the first to win the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year) (3 wds.) |
| 22% | ERG | 3 | Unit of work that becomes a word meaning "thus" if you add an O to the end |
| 22% | BOW | 3 | Archery equipment, and a verb that means "to bend the upper body in a sign of respect" |
| 22% | ALLEN | 5 | Irwin —, director of adventure films Five Weeks in a Balloon and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea |
| 22% | POLES | 5 | The top and bottom of the Earth |
| 22% | NEGOTIATE | 9 | Work out the terms of a deal |
| 22% | DIAL | 4 | Word before "up" to mean a form of internet access used in the '90s |
| 21% | THEFIREOFLIFE | 13 | Salman Rushdie's work, "Luka and ___," which is a sequel to "Haroun and the Sea of Stories": 4 wds. |
| 21% | GASMAN | 6 | One who wears fireproof clothes, carries up to 95 pounds and is a crucial part of the pit crew |
| 21% | LIEGE | 5 | Top and bottom of the feudal food chain |