| 100% | DELIVERANCE | 11 | 1972 thriller set in the backwoods of Georgia … or a plot point in 18-, 29- and 49-Across? |
| 40% | THISTOOSHALLPASS | 16 | Adage on the impermanence of suffering ... or a hint to 18-, 29-, 46- and 61-Across |
| 39% | SILENTPARTNER | 13 | Nonactive member of a firm ... or what G, H and W each have in 20-, 29- and 49-Across? |
| 38% | AFFIX | 5 | Add-on to the start or end of a word stem (as in 17-, 25-, 35-, 49- and 57-Across) |
| 38% | WORDSWITHFRIENDS | 16 | Popular app ... or a hint to the starts of 18-, 24- and 49-Across |
| 38% | MIDDLEEARTH | 11 | "The Lord of the Rings" setting ... or a feature of 17-, 24-, 38- and 49-Across? |
| 37% | PLAYINGWITHFIRE | 15 | Doing something risky ... or a hint to the last words of 18-, 24-, 49- and 58-Across |
| 37% | SAUSAGELINK | 11 | Breakfast side order ... or a hint to the last words of 18-, 23-, 34- and 49-Across |
| 37% | CUETHEMUSIC | 11 | Instruction to start playing ... or a hint to the end of 18-, 24-, 49- and 56-Across |
| 37% | THREERS | 7 | Elementary education ... or feature of the last words punned upon in 17-, 29-, 49- and 66-Across |
| 36% | CLOTHESLINE | 11 | Where duds are draped to dry … or a literal description of 18-, 28- and 49-Across? |
| 35% | WHATAREWE | 9 | Question asked by someone in a relationship . . . and answered, by the artists in parentheses, with the beginnings of 17-, 29-, and 49-Across? |
| 35% | LETTEROPENER | 12 | Sharp device in a classic desk set, or a literal and phonetic description of the ends of 20-, 28-, 36-, and 48-Across? |
| 35% | ISH | 3 | "Give or take" suffix ... that can be added to the end of 18-, 23-, 51- and 60-Across to form a sort of set |
| 35% | DEVIOUS | 7 | Tricky ... or a tricky description of 18-, 29-, 36-, 48- and 59-Across |
| 35% | DOH | 3 | Cry from Homer … or a phonetic hint to the ends of 18-, 27-, 48- and 62- Across |
| 34% | CARBONOFFSET | 12 | Purported counterbalance for greenhouse-gas emissions . . . or a description of the wordplay in 18-, 27-, 39-, and 51-Across |
| 34% | CATCHPHRASE | 11 | Commonplace utterance ... or a description of 18-, 28- and 49-Across? |
| 34% | PARTYANIMALS | 12 | They're always ready for a good time ... or a description of 18-, 25-, 35- and 49-Across? |
| 34% | BREAKFAST | 9 | Part of a morning routine ... or a literal hint to 18-, 22-, 35- and 49-Across |
| 34% | STARTINGSALARIES | 16 | Entry-level wages, and a hint to the first words of 18-, 28-, and 49-Across |
| 33% | INNERNERD | 9 | The secret geeky part of you ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 32-, 42- and 49-Across |
| 33% | TOBEFAIR | 8 | "Admittedly …," or, when said aloud, a punny description of 18-, 24-, 39- and 49-Across |
| 33% | SOCIALDISTANCING | 16 | Strategy for combatting a pandemic ... or what can be found in 18-, 25-, 31-, 49-, and 55-Across? |
| 33% | ROLEREVERSAL | 12 | Plot device used in "Freaky Friday" ... or a hint to the interior of 20-, 26- or 42-Across |
| 33% | STARTINGQB | 10 | Key member of a football team, in brief ... or a feature of 16-, 29-, 35- and 42-Across? |
| 33% | AMYANDISABELLE | 14 | Elizabeth Strout novel set in the fictional town of Shirley Falls about a mother and daughter (3 wds.) |
| 33% | BUMPHEADS | 9 | Disagree ... or, literally, what the last words of 18-, 23-, 35-, and 49-Across can be |
| 33% | BUTTHEADS | 9 | Disagree ... or a hint to the starts of 17-, 26-, 40- and 49-Across |
| 33% | GENRE | 5 | What the start of 17-, 29-, 45- or 61-Across is, in a bookstore |