| 100% | INOUTLIST | 9 | Catalog of what's trendy and what's not in the new year |
| 53% | DOOMSCROLLING | 13 | Habit of incessantly reading bad news online, and what's happening in the circles |
| 46% | BALLDROP | 8 | New Year's Eve tradition in the Big Apple, and what can be found in 3-, 8-, 33-, and 37-Down? |
| 46% | TOPHATS | 7 | Partners of tails ... and what's found in the answers to starred clues |
| 45% | FIVE | 4 | Half of a decade or the next number in a New Year's countdown (go to 34d to find out what you can do next year) |
| 44% | SECRETHANDSHAKE | 15 | Greeting between members of an exclusive club, and what's hiding in the answer to the starred clues? |
| 42% | SIX | 3 | Half of a dozen or the next number in a New Year's countdown |
| 42% | XANDY | 5 | With 30-Across, what most numbers in the clues of this year's puzzles represent |
| 42% | HORSEAROUND | 11 | Engage in tomfoolery ... and a hint to what goes with each part of the answers to starred clues, but not in the same way |
| 42% | BOOKS | 5 | Things people resolve to read more of in the New Year |
| 41% | VMAS | 4 | Where Olivia Rodrigo won Best New Artist and Song of the Year in 2021, for short |
| 41% | PEACE | 5 | State of calmness that is often wished for in the New Year |
| 41% | TODO | 4 | ___ list (List of resolutions to follow in the New Year, perhaps): Hyph. |
| 41% | ZEBEDEE | 7 | Father of James and John in the New Testament |
| 41% | AMYWINEHOUSE | 12 | "Rehab" singer who won the Best New Artist and Record of the Year Grammys in 2008: 2 wds. |
| 41% | FACEDTHEMUSIC | 13 | Accepted the consequences of one's actions, and what the artists did with the hits in this puzzle? |
| 40% | CHANGINGDIAPERS | 15 | New father's task, maybe ... and what the three other longest puzzle answers have in common? |
| 40% | PAGE | 4 | "Tomorrow is the first ___ in a book of 365" (common New Year's phrase) |
| 40% | LIKE | 4 | "It's not what it looks ___," cliche dialogue that's said in many movies like "Blades of Glory" and "The Matrix" |
| 40% | ADELE | 5 | Billboard's Artist of the Year in 2012 and 2016 |
| 40% | SPRINGBREAK | 11 | Popular vacation time ... and an explanation of what's straddling the two words in each theme answer? |
| 40% | TEST | 4 | Any of the eight circled words in this puzzle, and what's spelled out by their intersections |
| 40% | BACKSTREETS | 11 | Springsteen song, and what's contained in the circles |
| 39% | SHERYLCROW | 10 | "All I Wanna Do" singer who won the Best New Artist and Record of the Year Grammys in 1995: 2 wds. |
| 39% | NORAHJONES | 10 | "Don't Know Why" singer who won the Best New Artist and Record of the Year Grammys in 2003: 2 wds. |
| 39% | BILLIEEILISH | 12 | "Bad Guy" singer who received the Grammys for both Album of the Year and Best New Artist in 2020: 2 wds. |
| 39% | RADIOEDIT | 9 | Shortened version of a pop song ... and a hint to what's hidden in the answers to starred clues |
| 39% | OBAMA | 5 | Barack who was Time's Person of the Year in 2008 and 2012 |
| 39% | LAURYNHILL | 10 | "Everything Is Everything" singer who received the Grammys for both Album of the Year and Best New Artist in 1999: 2 wds. |
| 39% | MIDDLEENGLISH | 13 | "The Canterbury Tales" language, and what's hiding in the circled letters |