| 100% | THEORIST | 8 | A proposer of ideas or beliefs to explain things |
| 43% | TOY | 3 | Thing to play with or part of a Happy Meal |
| 42% | ANALOGY | 7 | A comparison of one thing to another when you are explaining something |
| 40% | OMEN | 4 | Foreboding or a sign of bad things to come |
| 37% | THEPLOTTHICKENS | 15 | "Now things are getting interesting" ... or a hint to the first words of 17-, 24-, 45- and 57-Across |
| 37% | THEORY | 6 | Set of ideas to explain something |
| 37% | GROUP | 5 | A collective of people or things |
| 37% | OIL | 3 | A thick liquid used to lubricate or fry things |
| 37% | COME | 4 | A sign of things to ___ |
| 36% | OCTET | 5 | A group of eight living or non-living things |
| 36% | CLUSTER | 7 | A group of similar things or people |
| 35% | RUT | 3 | A good thing to get out of |
| 35% | RAG | 3 | A dishcloth or piece of cloth used to clean things |
| 35% | MEMBER | 6 | A person or thing belonging to a group |
| 35% | THREAT | 6 | A person or thing likely to cause damage |
| 35% | IMAGE | 5 | Representation of a person or thing |
| 35% | NETS | 4 | Things to catch a large number of fish in |
| 35% | BUCKET | 6 | A __ list: wishlist of things to do before death |
| 35% | ITEM | 4 | Thing on an agenda or a to-do list |
| 35% | ANALOGUE | 8 | A person or thing seen as comparable to another |
| 35% | COMMITTEE | 9 | A body of persons chosen to advise or investigate |
| 34% | APPEARANCE | 10 | Outward aspect of a person or thing |
| 34% | ATTRIBUTES | 10 | Qualities representative of a person or thing |
| 34% | VIBE | 4 | Hard-to-explain sensation of a place or a person |
| 34% | CALCULATE | 9 | To get a general idea about value, size or cost |
| 34% | ADHERENTS | 9 | Followers of a religion or set of beliefs |
| 34% | LIST | 4 | Series of grocery items or things to do |
| 34% | IMONAROLL | 9 | "Things could not be going better for me!" ... or a hint to the placement of the circled letters |
| 34% | SHAPE | 5 | Outline of a person or a thing, say |
| 34% | ODE | 3 | Poet's tribute to a person or thing |