| 100% | PANEL | 5 | A secret one sometimes slid aside and led to secret rooms or down into the dungeons |
| 35% | ROLL | 4 | "Rock and ___," song by Led Zeppelin or what you might do to shape snow into the perfect base for a snowman |
| 31% | RISINGSEALEVELS | 15 | One effect of global warming, and a hint to the five longest Down answers |
| 30% | INNERNERD | 9 | The secret geeky part of you ... or a hint to 17-, 23-, 32-, 42- and 49-Across |
| 30% | LATEBLOOMER | 11 | One who catches up eventually ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 30- and 46-Across |
| 30% | BALDRIC | 7 | Belt for a sword worn over one shoulder and reaching down to the opposite hip |
| 29% | PORTAMENTO | 10 | In music, a sliding movement from one note to another, especially in singing or playing the violin |
| 28% | LOUNGE | 6 | Room with a secret passage to the Conservatory |
| 28% | SLICE | 5 | "Take a ___ of lime or lemon and add it to your drink. You can also keep one aside for garnishing!" |
| 28% | SHIFT | 5 | With 100-Down, change one's approach, and a hint to the circled letters |
| 28% | LOUNGE | 6 | Room in Clue with a secret passage to the Conservatory |
| 28% | MINOR | 5 | One needing a fake ID to get into the bar |
| 27% | WANNABET | 8 | "Care to wager?" ... and a question answered, one way or the other, by the first words of the answers to starred clues |
| 27% | STUDY | 5 | Clue room with a secret passage to the kitchen |
| 27% | OSCAR | 5 | (With 13-Across) "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go" |
| 27% | STUDY | 5 | Room in the game Clue with a secret passage to the kitchen |
| 27% | OIL | 3 | (5/6) To light up your pumpkin, dip a wick into some ___ and ... wait, your times have LED lights! Just place them inside the hollow pumpkin. |
| 27% | FULL | 4 | With 66-Across, back to the beginning ... or a description of 21- and 48-Down? |
| 27% | PLANTBASED | 10 | Like a meatless diet ... or like the answers to 3-, 7-, 10-, and 24-Down? |
| 27% | STEFFIGRAF | 10 | Tennis player who is the only player (man or woman) to win a Grand Slam and Olympic gold medal in one year: 2 wds. |
| 27% | STUDY | 5 | Room with a secret passage to the kitchen in the board game Clue |
| 27% | GOFIRST | 7 | Lead off ... or a hint to the circled letters |
| 27% | ACUTABOVE | 9 | On another level, or a clue to the starts of 3-, 4-, 11- and 27-Down |
| 27% | TOPBANANA | 9 | Head honcho, and a hint to the first word of 3-, 8-, 21-, or 24-Down |
| 26% | ROD | 3 | ___ Stewart, one of only three artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame first as a solo artist and then as a member of a band |
| 26% | ITSRAININGMEN | 13 | Camp classic by the Weather Girls ... or a homophonic hint to 3-, 8-, 26- and 31-Down |
| 26% | DOWNWARDDOG | 11 | Popular yoga pose ... or a literal hint to the ends of 3-, 7-, 9- and 21-Down |
| 26% | MALL | 4 | Starcourt ___, Hawkins' shopping center with a secret underground entry to the Upside Down |
| 26% | CITY | 4 | "Sex and the ___" (Candace Bushnell book that led to a hit HBO series) |
| 26% | STARRED | 7 | To have appeared as the lead in a movie or play |