| 100% | PETERS | 6 | Author Torrey who wrote “Detransition, Baby,” in which a trans woman and a cis woman consider raising a child together with the person they've both loved (January, 2021) |
| 35% | ISHIGURO | 8 | Author Kazuo who wrote “Klara and the Sun,” set in a dystopian future in which children are genetically engineered for academic excellence (March, 2021) |
| 29% | DANA | 4 | Author Spiotta who wrote “Wayward,” about a woman who flees her suburban family life in the wake of the 2016 Presidential election (July, 2021) |
| 24% | ARTHURCCLARKE | 13 | "Rendezvous With Rama" author who won a Hugo and a Nebula in the same year, twice: 3 wds. |
| 24% | ASL | 3 | Syst. in which making an "L" with the thumb and index finger and raising the pinkie means "I love you" |
| 24% | KHRISMIDDLETON | 14 | Small forward who, in 2021, won both an NBA title with the Bucks and an Olympic gold medal: 2 wds. |
| 23% | CARTLAND | 8 | English author Barbara, who wrote "The Wicked Marquis", and is referenced in the Guinness World Records for most novels published in a year |
| 23% | RESTART | 7 | Begin from the beginning, or what a person might do when they hit a creative block, and a word with 16a hidden in it |
| 23% | MEGANTHEE | 9 | With 46-Across, "Savage" rapper who both hosted and was the musical act in a 2022 "SNL" episode: 2 wds. |
| 23% | DAAE | 4 | Christine ___, who both Viscount Raoul de Chagny and Erik fall in love with in a noted 1909 publication |
| 23% | NICKJONAS | 9 | "Jealous" pop singer who both hosted and was the musical act in a 2021 "SNL" episode: 2 wds. |
| 23% | WALTERBENJAMIN | 14 | German philosopher who wrote, “The only way of knowing a person is to love them without hope” |
| 23% | GIGWORKER | 9 | Person who takes temporary jobs in the service sector (and a new Merriam-Webster entry of 2021) |
| 23% | LUGE | 4 | Winter Olympic sport which is also a small one or two person sled that rhymes with "huge" and was first played in the 1870s |
| 22% | KENNETH | 7 | With 37-Across, Scottish author who wrote "The Wind in the Willows": 2 wds. |
| 22% | JOHN | 4 | ___ Coltrane, saxophonist and "A Love Supreme" musician who is considered one of the most influential figures in jazz |
| 22% | BENJAMINSPOCK | 13 | "Baby and Child Care" author who competed in rowing at the 1924 Olympics: 2 wds. |
| 22% | HAPPYDAYSOFOURLIVES | 19 | Show in which Richie and the Fonz write a soap? |
| 22% | GILLIANFLYNN | 12 | Author who wrote the novels from which 17-Across and 29-/31-Across were adapted: 2 wds. |
| 22% | BEVERLYCLEARY | 13 | Children's author who wrote the novel "Ramona and Her Mother" (2 wds.) |
| 22% | JOCELYNALO | 10 | Softball player who won two National Championships with the Oklahoma Sooners and who was honored with a Best College Athlete, Women's Sports ESPY Award in 2022 (2 wds.) |
| 22% | SUEGRAFTON | 10 | Mystery author who wrote the 2015 novel “X” (the twenty-fourth in a series) |
| 21% | ARABESQUE | 9 | Classical ballet position in which a dancer has one leg raised behind and both arms stretched out |
| 21% | LOLA | 4 | Person in a Kinks song who "walks like a woman and talks like a man" |
| 21% | LOLA | 4 | Person in a Kinks song who "walked like a woman and talked like a man" |
| 21% | POE | 3 | Who wrote "It was many and many a year ago, / In a kingdom by the sea ..." |
| 21% | TED | 3 | Danson who played one of the three men in "Three Men and a Baby" |
| 21% | KATIE | 5 | Author Kitamura who wrote “Intimacies,” whose protagonist works as an interpreter at the International Criminal Court in The Hague (July, 2021) |
| 21% | RODERICKTHORP | 13 | Author who wrote "Nothing Lasts Forever," the novel on which movie in 17a was based: 2 wds. |
| 21% | RUDYARDKIPLING | 14 | English author who wrote the children's literature at 18- and 41-Across: 2 wds. |