| 100% | FANTASYLEAGUE | 13 | Contrived competition ... and what the 109-Across comprise in this puzzle? |
| 57% | DISUNION | 8 | State of division, and what the first letters of the states divided across black squares in this puzzle spell out |
| 52% | NOTES | 5 | Staff members, and what the circled letters in this puzzle represent |
| 52% | LONGWINDED | 10 | Verbose, and what the circled letters in this puzzle literally are? |
| 52% | SALESPROMOTIONS | 15 | Marketing strategies, and what the mascots in this puzzle have all been given? |
| 51% | ABRIDGED | 8 | Shortened, and what the letters removed from eight novels in this puzzle spell out |
| 50% | CLIMBSTHELADDER | 15 | Advances through corporate ranks … and what the answer to each starred clue in this puzzle does |
| 50% | MAKINGAFACE | 11 | Smirking, scowling, or smiling, and what the sets of circled letters in this puzzle are doing? |
| 49% | JACKINTHEBOXES | 14 | Some surprises ... and what you'll find in the circled areas of this puzzle |
| 49% | TINATURNER | 10 | "The Best" singer, and what this puzzle is, in the circles |
| 46% | SUIT | 4 | What the 13 circled things in this puzzle constitute |
| 46% | KNIGHTHOOD | 10 | What the eight male musicians in this puzzle all achieved |
| 46% | MAKINGACOMEBACK | 15 | What the eight featured celebrities in this puzzle are doing? |
| 45% | TEST | 4 | Any of the eight circled words in this puzzle, and what's spelled out by their intersections |
| 45% | SUNTAN | 6 | With 71 Across, what the people in this puzzle need? |
| 44% | MIDWEST | 7 | What the circled parts of this puzzle comprise |
| 44% | SALT | 4 | Theme of this puzzle, found in the answers to 21-, 26-, 44- and 52-Across |
| 44% | RAMP | 4 | What each circled model in this puzzle ascends or descends, and what's spelled by the letters where the models cross |
| 43% | SUBCONTRACTED | 13 | Outsourced, and what happened to the circled letters in this puzzle |
| 43% | DJSET | 5 | Track mix for a party, and what the five longest Across answers comprise |
| 43% | STATESWONBYBARACKOBAMA | 22 | With 90-Across, what the 28 circled squares in this puzzle represent |
| 43% | ATONEMENT | 9 | Ian McEwan novel, and what's needed in solving this puzzle? |
| 43% | AGREE | 5 | What the nouns and verb in this clue doesn't do |
| 43% | CROPSUP | 7 | Arises, and what's seen four times in this puzzle |
| 43% | WATERFALLS | 10 | What the circles in this puzzle hold |
| 43% | STALEMATERIAL | 13 | Dated jokes ... and what the ends of four Across answers are, in a way |
| 42% | LOOSECHANGE | 11 | Pocket money ... and what's in the puzzle's circles? |
| 42% | STATELINES | 10 | Borders represented four times in this puzzle — both in the grid and on a map |
| 42% | XANDY | 5 | With 30-Across, what most numbers in the clues of this year's puzzles represent |
| 42% | COUNTDOWN | 9 | What might end the year, and a hint to five answers in this puzzle |