| 100% | SCTV | 4 | Canadian comedy picked up by NBC in 1981 that recently shot back into the limelight with the launch of the latest two US astronauts |
| 23% | PIONEER | 7 | — 10, US spacecraft launched in 1972 that made the first fly-by of Jupiter |
| 22% | MTV | 3 | Music channel launched in 1981 that popularized the concept of "video jockey": Abbr. |
| 22% | DONKEYKONG | 10 | Classic arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981 that features the adventures of a gorilla character: 2 wds. |
| 22% | FEDEX | 5 | Delivery company with an arrow hiding in the last two letters of its logo |
| 22% | MTV | 3 | Channel launched in 1981 with a video by the Buggles |
| 22% | GAR | 3 | Fraternal org. for US Civil War vets founded in 1866 and dissolved with the death of its last member in 1956 |
| 22% | UPN | 3 | Bygone channel that launched with the two-hour pilot of "Star Trek: Voyager" |
| 21% | CANDIDA | 7 | Comedy play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1894 that revolves around the lives of a clergyman and his wife |
| 21% | EBWHITE | 7 | Author whose last name's first letter, followed by the two initials that precede his last name, form a word in one of his most famous titles |
| 21% | MTV | 3 | Channel that launched in 1981 with the introduction, "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll!" |
| 21% | POC | 3 | Abbreviation with a variant preceded by “BI” that gained popularity in the summer of 2020 |
| 21% | MARINER | 7 | Pair of Martian space probes launched by the US in 1969 |
| 21% | TVVCR | 5 | Combination recording innovation of the late '80s that you can pick up for $10 (if that!) at a yard sale |
| 21% | VEVO | 4 | Video music hosting group, formed by two of the "big three" record companies in the US |
| 21% | MICHAELSTIPE | 12 | Singer who came up with "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" in his sleep: 2 wds. |
| 21% | ACHILLES | 8 | Greek hero killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow |
| 21% | MEAD | 4 | Lake ___, largest artificial lake in the U.S. that looks natural but was formed by the construction of the Hoover Dam |
| 21% | MODERN | 6 | "___ Times," 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that marked the last appearance of his iconic "Tramp" character |
| 21% | HES | 3 | "___ Just Not That into You," a 2009 romantic comedy featuring an ensemble cast with the likes of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Aniston |
| 21% | PEARL | 5 | With 4 Down, site of the attack that on today's date in 1941 lead to the US entering WWII |
| 21% | TENSPOT | 7 | One with the backing of the U.S. Treasury? |
| 20% | OSAGE | 5 | — River, tributary of the Missouri River in the US that flows into the Lake of the Ozarks reservoir |
| 20% | SPY | 3 | ___ balloon (type of flying object shot down by the U.S. in February, 2023) |
| 20% | ISLANDS | 7 | "___ in the Sky," 1952 sci-fi novel by Arthur C. Clarke that is set in the later half of the 21st century |
| 20% | IRISEIRISEIRISE | 15 | Last three lines of the Angelou poem that starts: "You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies" |
| 20% | MAM | 3 | The org. that created outrage in 2015 by acquiring "Eggs Benedict", a portrait of the Pope made with colorful condoms (abbr.) |
| 20% | ROCKET | 6 | 3, 2, 1... And off it goes! Astronaut's fuel-powered vehicle that is launched up into the air |
| 20% | MAIDEN | 6 | "___ Voyage," 1965 jazz album by Herbie Hancock that was presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999 |
| 20% | PAST | 4 | "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the ___," famous last line of Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" |