| 100% | COPCITY | 7 | Epithet for an Atlanta police-training center that has been protested by a range of justice groups |
| 30% | LONDON | 6 | "___ Calling," song by British punk rock band the Clash which has the name of a city in its title that is known for the clock tower"Big Ben" |
| 29% | TAN | 3 | Color of skin that has been in the sun for a long time |
| 29% | CADRE | 5 | Word for a small military group that's also an anagram of raced |
| 29% | MOWN | 4 | Grass that has been cut by a machine |
| 29% | OTRANTO | 7 | "The Castle of ___," novel by Horace Walpole that is considered a seminal work for gothic fiction |
| 28% | CAM | 3 | Part of a laptop that might be covered by a sticky note, for short |
| 28% | ADVANCETEAMS | 12 | Groups that do prep work ahead of an event, and a directive followed by this puzzle's theme answers? |
| 28% | SCARLET | 7 | "The ___ Letter," historical fiction novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne that was an inspiration for the film "Easy A" |
| 28% | COLD | 4 | Like dinner that has been lying for a while |
| 28% | ROAR | 4 | Hit song by Katy Perry that was nominated for a Grammy for Song of the Year in 2014 |
| 28% | FIREWORK | 8 | Hit song by Katy Perry that was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year in 2012 |
| 28% | BLEEDS | 6 | "If It ___," collection of four novellas by Stephen King that was nominated for a Locus Award in 2021 |
| 28% | COLD | 4 | Like food that has been laying out for a while |
| 28% | BEAUTYCONTESTS | 14 | Competitions that have been the targets of some feminist protests |
| 28% | STEEL | 5 | "___ Magnolias," 1989 film with an ensemble cast that is about a group of women in a small, Southern community |
| 27% | ATHLEISURE | 10 | Clothing trend that Morgan Stanley has predicted will have a global market size of eighty-three billion dollars by 2020 |
| 27% | DREAM | 5 | "Teenage ___," third studio album by Katy Perry that was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year in 2011 |
| 27% | RODEO | 5 | Event that might be protested by animal rights groups |
| 27% | AQUAMAN | 7 | Member of the extended DC Universe who has an aquatic physiology and is also a founding member of the Justice League |
| 27% | THETOP | 6 | "That song has been on ___ charts for a while..." (List of popular songs): 2 wds. |
| 27% | PDA | 3 | Term for a handheld computer that has largely been replaced by "smartphone": Abbr. |
| 27% | PIGTAILS | 8 | Iconic hairstyle that has been a part of almost every Wednesday Addams look |
| 27% | ISLANDS | 7 | An archipelago is a group of these |
| 26% | DIDNT | 5 | "___ We Almost Have It All," number-one hit by Whitney Houston that received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year in 1988 |
| 26% | WRATH | 5 | "The Grapes of ___," novel by John Steinbeck, set in the Great Depression, that was a major reason for him winning the Nobel Prize |
| 26% | HUMANOID | 8 | Having an appearance resembling that of a person |
| 26% | ENDYMION | 8 | Poem by John Keats, that starts with "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever..." |
| 26% | OWN | 3 | "A Room of One's ___," essay by Virginia Woolf which is an inspiration for dark academia |
| 26% | GALWAY | 6 | "___ Girl," song by English singer Ed Sheeran which has the name of an Irish city in its title that is home to Eyre Square |