| 100% | GST | 3 | Facility for studies of the Sun with a 1.7 meter mirror, that's located on the north shore of California's Big Near Lake (abbr.) |
| 28% | ELT | 3 | Instrument currently under construction with a planned 130 ft. primary mirror located on top of Cerro Armazones in the Atacama Desert (abbr.) |
| 27% | TAHOE | 5 | California freshwater lake with a name that translates to "edge of the lake" in Washoe |
| 26% | STALECEREAL | 11 | Menu item #1: A bowlful of Cap'n Crunch that's been on top of the fridge for four years |
| 26% | SALE | 4 | FOR ___ (sign in front of a house that's on the market) |
| 26% | THUNDER | 7 | ___ Bay, Canadian city located on Lake Superior that shares part of its name with the sound that accompanies lightning |
| 25% | OTRANTO | 7 | Town on the SE tip of Italy that's the title setting for a Horace Walpole novel |
| 25% | DOGGETT | 7 | Thomas —, Irish actor; founder of a sculling prize in 1715 that is still competed for on the River Thames on August 1 |
| 25% | EVIAN | 5 | — water, mineral water from a French spa on the south shore of Lake Geneva |
| 25% | TARE | 4 | Button on a butcher's scale that allows for the weight of the container |
| 25% | ERIE | 4 | City in Pennsylvania situated on the south shore of a lake of the same name |
| 25% | EVIAN | 5 | — water, alkaline mineral water from a French spa on the south shore of Lake Geneva |
| 25% | PIP | 3 | One of the clubs on a 7 of clubs, for example |
| 25% | WHITE | 5 | With 7-Across, building on the back of a $20 bill |
| 25% | DRA | 3 | Org. that's a Fed.-state partnership for improving life for residents near the mouth of the Mississippi |
| 25% | LITTORAL | 8 | Coastal, on the shore of a lake |
| 25% | LECCO | 5 | Hill station located on the shores of Lake Como in Lombardy, Italy |
| 24% | DOCKS | 5 | Wooden platforms on the shores of a lake |
| 24% | WMD | 3 | Big bombs that were a focus of the Iraq War: Abbr. |
| 24% | ISLEROYALE | 10 | Lake Superior locale that's the subject of a more than 60 year study of a unique moose-wolf relationship |
| 24% | ERIE | 4 | Pennsylvania city on the shore of a Great Lake |
| 24% | ERIE | 4 | Pennsylvania town on the shore of a Great Lake |
| 24% | SNIFFLE | 7 | Affliction of the nose for those with a cold |
| 24% | STAR | 4 | (9/10) "Let's put a twinkly ___ on the top of your Christmas tree for that final touch!" |
| 24% | BAD | 3 | With 7-Down, Billie Eilish hit that won the 2020 Grammy for Song of the Year |
| 24% | ALIEN | 5 | Sci-fi film with a creature inspired by Francis Bacon's "Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion" |
| 24% | TAHOE | 5 | Chevy SUV named for a lake on the California/Nevada border |
| 24% | BANG | 4 | "The Big ___ Theory," American sitcom with a few episodes that refer to "The Lord of the Rings" |
| 24% | ERIE | 4 | Lake that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is on the shore of |
| 24% | LIRPA | 5 | With 1-Across, a normal answer for a totally normal day of the year |