| 100% | ALADDIN | 7 | A well-known movie of the 1990s...but not the contest answer |
| 55% | MIDDLEMARCH | 11 | George Eliot novel that's not the contest answer, but provides a hint to it |
| 46% | HORSEAROUND | 11 | Engage in tomfoolery ... and a hint to what goes with each part of the answers to starred clues, but not in the same way |
| 46% | INLAND | 6 | Not on the coast, but in the middle of a country |
| 45% | OAR | 3 | Tool used by most of a rowing team, but not the coxswain |
| 44% | SCALY | 5 | Like the skin of a trout but not a shark |
| 44% | XXXXX | 5 | Sound of touching glasses in a toast (and a hint to finding the contest answer) |
| 43% | PARALEGAL | 9 | Works with law but not in the level of a lawyer |
| 43% | ACEDOUT | 7 | Got the better of, in a contest |
| 43% | SPLIT | 5 | Start of the contest answer, and a nudge to finding the rest |
| 42% | MOP | 3 | *Spring cleaning* "Last but not the least clean the floors with a bucket of water and this tool!" |
| 42% | SOANDSO | 7 | Name better left unsaid, or a description of the answers to the starred clues |
| 42% | APOLLO | 6 | Better known name of the Greek god Loxius |
| 42% | AMADEUS | 7 | Movie with the line "I'm a vulgar man. But I assure you, my music is not" |
| 42% | MARY | 4 | Lincoln, who was the wife of the 16th president (she's not the contest answer) |
| 41% | OMNI | 4 | Prefix with present (and not the contest answer) |
| 41% | LOWERCASELETTER | 15 | The "e," but not the "B," of eBay |
| 40% | HANNIBAL | 8 | 2001 movie that was a sequel to the 1991 Best Picture winner "The Silence of the Lambs" |
| 40% | CAPITAL | 7 | A hint to the contest answer |
| 40% | TRISTANTZARA | 12 | Romania-born French author of 1921 stage play The Gas Heart best known as a founder of Dadaism |
| 40% | ANIMALHOUSE | 11 | 1978 John Belushi movie, and a hint to the first three or four letters of the starred answers |
| 40% | IMONAROLL | 9 | "Things could not be going better for me!" ... or a hint to the placement of the circled letters |
| 40% | MYST | 4 | Best-selling computer game of the 1990s |
| 40% | MYST | 4 | Best-selling PC game of the 1990s |
| 40% | INTRANSLATION | 13 | "Lost ___," a romantic comedy starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, that is considered one of the best movies of the 2000s: 2 wds. |
| 40% | NONNEGATIVE | 11 | Zero or greater, or a description of the circled letters, which do not affect the meanings of the answers |
| 39% | RENT | 4 | 1996 Best Musical Tony winner made into a 2005 movie starring six of the eight original Broadway cast members |
| 39% | WRANGLER | 8 | The Jeep __ is a well known SUV model |
| 39% | SOLOMONNORTHUP | 14 | Author of the 1853 memoir "Twelve Years a Slave," which was made into a Best Picture-winning movie: 2 wds. |
| 39% | SOFTG | 5 | The fifth letter of "garage," but not the first |