| 100% | BALLPARK | 8 | A __ figure is close but maybe not precise |
| 44% | APPROXIMATE | 11 | Close, but not precise |
| 42% | EXIST | 5 | Be a chauvinist, but not initially |
| 42% | NOCIGAR | 7 | A near success is close but this |
| 42% | WONONPOINTS | 11 | Was victorious, but not by a knockout |
| 41% | AMPHIBIAN | 9 | A frog is not a reptile, but an __ |
| 40% | WONONPOINTS | 11 | Was victorious in the ring, but not by a knockout |
| 39% | MEAT | 4 | Essence (but maybe not to a vegan) |
| 39% | ESC | 3 | Key that can close a window, but not open one |
| 39% | CATALYST | 8 | It speeds up a reaction but is not changed itself |
| 39% | AINT | 4 | "I may not be the brightest, but I ____ a liar!" |
| 39% | LAYMEN | 6 | Males who are members of a church but not ordained |
| 38% | RODENT | 6 | What a vole is but a mole is not |
| 38% | LITTLEOLDLADY | 13 | Diminutive figure "who was not afraid of anything," in a kids book |
| 37% | COY | 3 | Shy, but maybe not? |
| 37% | YOUDBESETONSTUNNING | 19 | "I know it's not my business, but if you were a laser ..." |
| 37% | DISCLAIMER | 10 | "I am not a doctor, but I play one on TV," e.g. |
| 36% | POEM | 4 | "A ___ should not mean / But be": MacLeish |
| 36% | SEX | 3 | Something that might be in an R-rated movie but not a G-rated one |
| 35% | POEM | 4 | "A ___ should not mean / But be": Archibald MacLeish |
| 35% | AWIFE | 5 | "She is not only ___ but also a daughter-in-law." (not just a spouse): 2 wds. |
| 35% | TSELIOT | 7 | Who wrote "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" |
| 35% | FREEATLAST | 10 | End of a speech that included the words "1963 is not an end, but a beginning" |
| 35% | ELIOT | 5 | Poet who wrote "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" |
| 34% | NOCIGAR | 7 | Close but __; almost correct but not quite |
| 34% | AMSO | 4 | Childish but truthful reply to "You're not solving a crossword" when you are, in fact, solving it |
| 34% | PLATONIC | 8 | Close ... but not THAT close |
| 34% | YESNO | 5 | Like a question for which "maybe" is not an option |
| 33% | TOBEEXPERIENCED | 15 | "Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality ___" (Soren Kierkegaard) |
| 33% | ROUT | 4 | Not a close game |