| 100% | LONGFELLOW | 10 | Author of an 1841 poem that contains the line spelled out by the circled squares |
| 38% | TEN | 3 | Number of mispelled words in this puzzle's clues (oh, by the way, watch out for those tricky circled squares!) |
| 38% | ANCIENT | 7 | With 42-Across, subject of the poem that contains the line 17-/65-Across |
| 37% | INFANT | 6 | One delivered by the labor specialist spelled out in the circled letters that touch six dividing black squares in this puzzle |
| 36% | ASHOWABOUTNOTHING | 17 | Description of the TV series spelled out in the circled squares (as well as this puzzle's theme) |
| 36% | TINAFEY | 7 | Writer of the bestseller spelled out in this puzzle's circled squares |
| 35% | AVANTGARDE | 10 | Like the work spelled out by the circled letters |
| 34% | TARA | 4 | Author Westover whose memoir is spelled out in the first letters of this puzzle's eight circled schools |
| 34% | THELOCUSTTREEINFLOWER | 21 | 1935 poem with one word per line ... as spelled out by this puzzle's circled letters |
| 34% | TEST | 4 | Any of the eight circled words in this puzzle, and what's spelled out by their intersections |
| 33% | LATENESS | 8 | Result of pushing things back, and what's spelled out by eight letters that have been literally pushed to the back |
| 33% | NAEL | 4 | Author of a poem that runs "The tiger / He destroyed his cage / Yes / YES / The tiger is out" |
| 33% | TOYS | 4 | Plush items that might utter the phrase spelled by the letters between the pairs of circles |
| 33% | ARMORYSHOW | 10 | Event at which the work spelled out by the circled letters was first exhibited in America |
| 32% | DOUBLEO | 7 | Feature of this puzzle's circled squares that, when connected by a single line, visually represents 111-Across |
| 32% | YOUREMUTED | 10 | Comment about the silence on Zoom ... and what's spelled out by the sounds that have been removed from the starts of 10 phrases in this puzzle |
| 32% | STLOUISMISSOURI | 15 | City with a landmark spelled out by the circled letters, reading left to right |
| 32% | NATURAL | 7 | With 39-Across, subject of study represented literally by the words spelled out by this puzzle's circled letters |
| 31% | COCOCHANEL | 10 | Fashion designer associated with the item spelled out by the starts of 17-, 26- and 42-Across |
| 31% | FAIRYTALEENDING | 15 | What’s spelled out by the starts of six answers in this puzzle |
| 31% | YMCA | 4 | 1978 song by Village People with a popular dance move that involves spelling out the name of the song with arm movements |
| 31% | GOAT | 4 | Superlative acronym spelled out by the starts of the answers to the starred clues |
| 31% | BAA | 3 | First word of the nursery rhyme that contains the line "Have you any wool?" |
| 30% | PHONETIC | 8 | Apt word spelled out by the first letters of eight answers in this puzzle |
| 30% | TURNINGRED | 10 | 2022 Pixar film ... and an explanation of the circled squares? |
| 30% | SENT | 4 | Status of an email that's left the out-box |
| 30% | BOUNDARY | 8 | Line that marks the limits of an area |
| 30% | YOLO | 4 | "Carpe diem" acronym spelled out by the starts of the answers to the starred clues |
| 30% | CHRISTMASEVE | 12 | Apt phrase spelled out by the first letters of the answers to the starred clues |
| 30% | PHYSICS | 7 | Science that deals with the phenomenon spelled out by 10 missing letters in this puzzle |