| 100% | NARCO | 5 | Certain criminal, or the agent pursuing them |
| 39% | FARES | 5 | Passengers, or the amounts paid by them |
| 38% | EVILEYES | 8 | Talismans, or the curses they protect against |
| 37% | WARFILM | 7 | The Expendables or They Were Expendable |
| 36% | SPARETIRE | 9 | Donut ... or the consequence of eating too many of them? |
| 36% | SPY | 3 | Agent for the CIA or Britain's MI6 |
| 36% | BAKERS | 6 | They cook pastry or meals in the oven |
| 36% | SNOWMAN | 7 | "The Falcon and the" They were criminals: |
| 35% | BABYTOY | 7 | A set of blocks . . . or the box they came in, perhaps |
| 35% | FILTERS | 7 | They tint or change the resolution of a photo |
| 35% | HERD | 4 | Group of sheep or the last four letters of who guides them? |
| 34% | BAGS | 4 | They can be paper or plastic at the grocery store |
| 34% | BUSKERS | 7 | They sing or play music for money on the streets |
| 34% | TES | 3 | They could block for, or receive passes from, the QB |
| 34% | HIPS | 4 | They are essential in doing the twist or playing Twister |
| 34% | PLAYOFFS | 8 | They might eliminate teams … with or without the shaded letter |
| 34% | OUTLAW | 6 | Fugitive or criminal, especially in the Wild West |
| 34% | TAB | 3 | Bill at the bar or certain keyboard key |
| 34% | EYELIDS | 7 | Closed or open, they protect the seeing organs |
| 34% | LAKES | 5 | They are smaller than the seas, like the Erie or Tahoe |
| 34% | RAYS | 4 | They may be caught at the beach ... or out at sea |
| 34% | HRS | 3 | They may fly or crawl by, depending on the circumstances: Abbr. |
| 33% | CAB | 3 | Certain red ... or, in another context, something associated with the color yellow |
| 33% | MYTHS | 5 | The answers to the starred clues in this puzzle … or are they? |
| 33% | ORDER | 5 | What the theme answers are in, or what they contain |
| 33% | BREAKFAST | 9 | Most important meal of the day, or so they say |
| 32% | SPLITPEAS | 9 | Certain soup ingredients … or a homophonic hint to the answers to the starred clues |
| 32% | STEPS | 5 | Walk up or down them to get to the top or bottom |
| 31% | SPY | 3 | Secret agent ... or role for Jennifer Lawrence in the 2018 film "Red Sparrow" |
| 31% | VANDAL | 6 | Certain criminal |