| 100% | WEPT | 4 | Behaved like Moaning Myrtle, who haunted the first-floor girls' lavatory at Hogwarts |
| 29% | POOR | 4 | Like the Clampetts, at first |
| 29% | RUSTED | 6 | Like the Tin Man, at first |
| 29% | UGLY | 4 | Like the storied duckling, at first |
| 28% | RUDE | 4 | Like customers who yell at the waitstaff |
| 28% | SUNBURNT | 8 | Like one who got careless at the beach |
| 26% | MARSAIMARTIN | 12 | Producer who was the first cover star of Essence's Girls United |
| 26% | XAVIERCUGAT | 11 | Entertainer who was the first man to be married at Caesars Palace |
| 26% | MAHALIA | 7 | Jackson who was the first gospel singer to perform at Carnegie Hall |
| 26% | ALICE | 5 | Girl who was a guest at the Mad Hatter's tea party |
| 26% | NOONE | 5 | Who's on first, at the top of the inning |
| 26% | URSULAANDRESS | 13 | Swiss actress who played the first Bond girl in "Dr. No": 2 wds. |
| 25% | OMAR | 4 | Ilhan who was the first person to wear a hijab on the House floor |
| 25% | MARIECURIE | 10 | Scientist who was the first female professor at the University of Paris: 2 wds. |
| 25% | UGLY | 4 | Like the storied duckling (at first) |
| 25% | NADIA | 5 | Comaneci who was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect ten at the Olympics |
| 25% | OBAMA | 5 | Former First Lady Michelle who planted an organic garden at the White House |
| 25% | EUNICE | 6 | ___ Gayson, actress who played the first-ever Bond girl |
| 25% | JENNA | 5 | Marbles who is the first social-media star to have a wax statue at Madame Tussauds |
| 25% | ELOISE | 6 | Kid-lit girl who lives on the "tippy-top floor" of the Plaza Hotel |
| 25% | JENNIFERLOPEZ | 13 | American singer and actress who has made hits like "On the Floor": 2 wds. |
| 25% | LEXI | 4 | Thompson who first qualified for the U.S. Women's Open at age 12 |
| 24% | RENEE | 5 | Fleming who was the first opera singer to perform the national anthem at the Super Bowl (2014) |
| 24% | PEOPLEOFNOTE | 12 | Luminaries like the eight featured in this puzzle? (hint: look at their first few letters) |
| 24% | RAITT | 5 | Bonnie ___, "Just Like That" female singer who won three Grammys at the 2023 Grammy Awards |
| 24% | MOZART | 6 | Composer who wrote his first concerto at the age of five |
| 24% | HAGRID | 6 | The half-giant who taught at Hogwarts |
| 24% | ANNESHIRLEY | 11 | Lucy Maud Montgomery kid-lit girl who lives on the farm at Green Gables (2 wds.) |
| 23% | JENNIFERLOPEZ | 13 | "On the Floor" singer whose name's first and last letters sound like "Jay-Z": 2 wds. |
| 23% | JADECAREY | 9 | US gymnast who won gold in women's floor exercise at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: 2 wds. |