| 100% | MCCAFE | 6 | Fast food concept and brand launched in Melbourne, Australia in 1993 that finally hit the US in Chicago in 2001 |
| 31% | GROCERY | 7 | Store that sells food and goods in the US |
| 29% | BOY | 3 | Friar's Fat ___, fast food restaurant that is featured in the "Shrek" franchise and named after Friar Tuck |
| 29% | BULLS | 5 | Chicago 26-Down team that won the Championship in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998 |
| 29% | MAC | 3 | ___ and cheese, a casserole baked in oven that is considered to be a comfort food in the US |
| 27% | OMG | 3 | Gryffin and Carly Rae Jepsen's 2019 release that hit #1 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in November |
| 27% | CHINESE | 7 | With 27- and 36-Across, object that floated over the US in early 2023 |
| 26% | SUBWAY | 6 | Fast food brand that urges us to Eat Fresh |
| 26% | AHERO | 5 | "Look inside you and be strong / And you'll finally see the truth / That ___ lies in you" (lyrics in a 1993 #1 Mariah Carey song) (2 wds.) |
| 26% | DOLLAR | 6 | Currency in the US, Canada, and Australia |
| 26% | MCRIB | 5 | Fast food sandwich that debuted in the Kansas City area |
| 26% | COORS | 5 | ___ Light, beer brand that originated in the U.S. in 1978 |
| 25% | PAINTEDDESERT | 13 | South Australia and Arizona in the US both have one |
| 25% | ISE | 3 | Nasdaq ___, launched in 2000 and the first all-electronic trader in US equity options (abbr.) |
| 25% | MCNUGGET | 8 | Fast food item that comes in bell, bow tie, ball, and boot shapes |
| 25% | LIFEGOESON | 10 | 2020 BTS song that hit #1 in the US: 3 wds. |
| 25% | AKC | 3 | Org. that finally recognized Redbone and Bluetick Coonhounds in 2009 and the Treeing Walker in 2012 |
| 25% | IGOTYOUBABE | 11 | 1960s hit that Cher rerecorded with Beavis and Butt-Head in 1993 |
| 25% | BTS | 3 | South Korean group that has had six #1 hits in the US |
| 25% | IMONFIRE | 8 | Springsteen hit between "Born in the U.S.A." and "Glory Days" |
| 25% | FAA | 3 | US govt. body that in March 2019 finally issued the order to ground all US Boeing 737 MAX airplanes |
| 24% | INFLATION | 9 | Economic indicator that hit a four-decade high in the U.S. in June, 2022 |
| 24% | MTV | 3 | Music channel launched in 1981 that popularized the concept of "video jockey": Abbr. |
| 24% | HEARTLESS | 9 | 2019 The Weeknd hit that was his fourth #1 single in the US |
| 24% | ELLE | 4 | Magazine that debuted in France in 1945 and the U.S. in 1985 |
| 24% | BANGAGONG | 9 | T. Rex hit that was titled “Get It On” in the U.K. |
| 24% | ATARI | 5 | Brand that launched an eight-bit-computer line in the seventies |
| 24% | GHANA | 5 | Country that eliminated the U.S.A. in both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups |
| 24% | AXE | 3 | US men's grooming brand known as "Lynx" in the UK, Australia or China |
| 24% | PIONEER | 7 | — 10, US spacecraft launched in 1972 that made the first fly-by of Jupiter |