| 100% | BAASKETCASE | 11 | 69-Across that's a hot mess? |
| 52% | FINEKETTLEOFFISH | 16 | Seafood dish that's rather a mess? |
| 51% | ALLOVERTHEPLACE | 15 | Like a hot mess |
| 51% | VIOL | 4 | Instrument that's a homophone of 69-Down |
| 50% | TRALEE | 6 | City that's a near-rhyme to 15 Across |
| 50% | QUIZ | 4 | Test that's shorter than a 14 Across |
| 49% | HECKLER | 7 | 69 Across for a comic |
| 48% | HABANERO | 8 | Pepper that's about 10 times hotter than a serrano |
| 47% | LADYLIBERTY | 11 | Attraction in 69-Across that withstands dozens of lightning strikes a year, familiarly |
| 46% | BOILEDEGG | 9 | A breakfast staple that's been cooked in hot water |
| 46% | BUN | 3 | Roll that a hot dog's served in |
| 46% | GHOST | 5 | With 13 Across, chilis that are among the world's hottest |
| 45% | TEAL | 4 | Shade that’s a little 31-Across |
| 44% | KEEPITDOWN | 10 | "That's enough!," to a hot dog-eating contestant? |
| 44% | CRATERLAKE | 10 | Attraction in 69-Across that's almost 2,000 feet deep |
| 44% | PARTYGATE | 9 | Scandal that was a factor in 14/16 Across's downfall |
| 43% | FLOURBOMB | 9 | Protest item that leaves a powdery mess |
| 43% | EEK | 3 | Cry that's a homophone of 81-Across |
| 43% | ERIE | 4 | Lake that's a homophone of 59-Across |
| 43% | FLU | 3 | Bug that's a homophone of 1-Across |
| 43% | SEE | 3 | Verb that's a homophone of 37-Across |
| 43% | HARE | 4 | Sprinter that's a homophone of 46-Across |
| 43% | URN | 3 | Vessel that's a homophone of 24-Across |
| 43% | ABEL | 4 | Name that's a homophone of 24-Across |
| 43% | TENTS | 5 | Gear that's a homophone of 25-Across |
| 43% | ILL | 3 | Contraction that's a homophone of 13-Across |
| 43% | NELL | 4 | Name that's a homophone of 57-Across |
| 43% | TEA | 3 | Hot brew that sounds like a letter |
| 43% | TEA | 3 | Hot brew that sounds like a letter? |
| 43% | TEABAG | 6 | Item that's placed in a cup of hot water to brew a drink: 2 wds. |