| 100% | ANNAT | 5 | A half year's stipend, over and above what is owing for the incumbency |
| 38% | GAOL | 4 | What the Tower of London was for over 850 years |
| 35% | ERODE | 5 | What the Colorado River will continue to do to the canyon for a few more zillion years |
| 35% | ERIC | 4 | Actor Braeden who has been on "The Young and the Restless" for over 40 years |
| 34% | STAINEDINSTEAD | 14 | What was done to the back deck this time after the fiasco a few years ago with the paint and the raccoon? |
| 34% | BOW | 3 | What a play's cast takes after the show is over |
| 34% | REDWINE | 7 | The bottle of Chateau Margaux 1787, insured for $225,000 and knocked over by a waiter, was this type of beverage |
| 34% | TONGUETIED | 10 | At a loss for words, and what the starts of 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across can literally be? |
| 33% | WATERBREAK | 10 | Time for a drink at the gym... or what can literally be seen in 17-, 24-, 35- and 49-Across |
| 33% | LOVEISALLAROUND | 15 | 1968 hit for the Troggs, and a hint to what can precede this puzzle's perimeter words |
| 32% | BONO | 4 | I am a member of U2 and was named one of the Time Persons of the Year in 2005 for my philanthropic efforts |
| 32% | SEED | 4 | What is planted in the soil and could become a tree? |
| 32% | DEVIL | 5 | What Beelzebub and The Tempter are both names for |
| 31% | ROWLING | 7 | Best-selling author who was a runner-up for Time's 2007 Person of the Year |
| 31% | EARTH | 5 | What is the only planet in our solar system not named for a deity? |
| 31% | GPA | 3 | What A's and B's are good for |
| 31% | HAILSTONE | 9 | What each of the four longest answers is a term for |
| 31% | YEW | 3 | What Voldemort's 13 and a half inch wand was made from |
| 30% | BALLDROP | 8 | New Year's Eve tradition in the Big Apple, and what can be found in 3-, 8-, 33-, and 37-Down? |
| 30% | TIME | 4 | What's seen on a clock ... and an invisible ingredient for farmers to grow the crops you see in the puzzle |
| 30% | WARIO | 5 | Video-game antagonist whose name is a portmanteau of the protagonist's name and the Japanese word for "bad" |
| 30% | RNA | 3 | British org. for the support of "women’s fiction" and honestly, to be a member, the genre likely has to run in your genes? |
| 30% | HAVEACASE | 9 | Be justified in pressing a suit, and what the starred answers all do |
| 30% | SAMSMITH | 8 | "Stay With Me" singer who was a first-time Grammy nominee for Record of the Year (and won): 2 wds. |
| 30% | HELEN | 5 | I was the first deaf-blind person to earn a B.A. degree and I campaigned for women's rights |
| 30% | STALECEREAL | 11 | Menu item #1: A bowlful of Cap'n Crunch that's been on top of the fridge for four years |
| 30% | COUNTDOWN | 9 | What might end the year, and a hint to five answers in this puzzle |
| 30% | IGRANTYOUANOTHERWISH | 20 | The genie studies it for a while and finally says, "This is impossible. So ..." |
| 30% | AMEN | 4 | Beyoncé song with the lyric “Say a prayer for what has been” |
| 30% | ACITYONAHILL | 12 | Metaphor for America's standing as a beacon of hope, and what can literally be found four times in this puzzle |