| 100% | POWDERKEG | 9 | Barrel of explosive stuff, or a situation that's ready to blow |
| 37% | POKER | 5 | Card game or a type of face that's hard to read |
| 37% | BREECH | 6 | That part of a firearm behind the barrel or bore |
| 36% | SHARP | 5 | Like a pencil that's ready to use |
| 36% | RIPE | 4 | Like a banana that's ready to eat |
| 36% | FUELLED | 7 | Like a Bentley that's ready to go |
| 36% | EDGECASE | 8 | Situation that occurs under extreme conditions, and a description of the answer to each starred clue |
| 36% | RIPE | 4 | Like a fruit that's ready to be eaten |
| 36% | RIPE | 4 | Like a fruit that's ready to be picked |
| 36% | RIPE | 4 | Like a fruit that's ready to be plucked |
| 36% | ITSALLNOISE | 11 | "That's just talk, talk, talk," or a hint to the ends of the starred answers |
| 36% | ELEMENTAL | 9 | A word that means simple and basic, or pertaining to forces of nature |
| 35% | ACHIP | 5 | Item you might throw on a roulette table or something that it's absolutely impossible to eat just one of |
| 34% | YES | 3 | "That's correct" ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 28-, 45- and 59-Across, in different languages |
| 34% | TOWN | 4 | Word that can follow Hades or Urine to make the title of a musical |
| 34% | JOB | 3 | Dream ___, work or company that you've wanted to be a part of forever! |
| 34% | KITTYCORNER | 11 | Diagonally ... or a hint to four of this puzzle's squares |
| 34% | DRUM | 4 | Instrument that's part of a "set" or "kit" |
| 33% | DAS | 3 | Word that can precede EFX or Racist to create the name of a hip-hop group |
| 33% | DOUBLEBILL | 10 | Event with two headliners, or a description of a restaurant check that includes any of the answers to the starred clues? |
| 33% | SOU | 3 | "Ready to relieve 'em of a ___ or two" ("Les Misérables" lyric) |
| 33% | ASH | 3 | Tree that's also a shade of gray or blonde |
| 33% | GIN | 3 | Kind of rummy, or a liquor that's not rum |
| 33% | ESPARTO | 7 | Grass of S Europe and N Africa that yields a fibre used to make rope and mats |
| 33% | TEAK | 4 | Plant whose name becomes that of a meat product when an s is added to the beginning |
| 33% | RAT | 3 | *Sewage rodent ... or a word that goes with "trap" to mean a hopeless situation |
| 33% | FILLINTHEBLANK | 14 | Test format ... or a hint to understanding three of this puzzle's clues |
| 33% | NOUSE | 5 | Pointless, or a phonetic hint to five of this puzzle's long answers |
| 33% | SAP | 3 | Stuff that's tapped from a tree to make maple syrup |
| 33% | THINGSFALLAPART | 15 | Chinua Achebe novel that's a response to "Heart of Darkness" |