| 100% | TATA | 4 | Father, in Xhosa, and a nickname for 36-Across |
| 53% | DOWNUNDER | 9 | Nickname for 18-Across, and a hint to how four answers in this puzzle are to be entered |
| 50% | NEONDEION | 9 | Nickname for the only man to play in a Super Bowl and a World Series |
| 48% | DADDY | 5 | A nickname for a father |
| 46% | PAPA | 4 | Nickname for a father |
| 44% | GRANDPA | 7 | Nickname for a parent's father |
| 44% | DOC | 3 | Nickname for a physician (and homonym of 40-Across) |
| 44% | NANA | 4 | Nickname for a grandmother in some families |
| 43% | THE | 3 | With 4-Across, nickname for a progressive cohort in Congress |
| 43% | WILDCHILD | 9 | Nickname for a free spirit; young and fearless |
| 43% | LOLITA | 6 | Nickname for Dolores Haze, in a 1955 novel |
| 43% | MOREORLESS | 10 | Roughly, and a hint to the words hidden in 18-, 23-, 36- and 52-Across |
| 43% | AGENTP | 6 | Nickname for Perry the Platypus in Phineas and Ferb |
| 43% | FIDI | 4 | Nickname for business-heavy neighborhoods in SF and NYC |
| 43% | ISMELLARAT | 10 | Suspicious comment ... and a hint to what's hidden in 18-, 24-, 36- and 51-Across |
| 42% | REV | 3 | Nickname for a pastor or clergyman's title, in short |
| 42% | SOONER | 6 | Nickname for a cheater in the Oklahoma land rush of 1889 |
| 42% | THEGOAT | 7 | Nickname for the best player in the history of a sport |
| 41% | YOULL | 5 | With 21 Across, 3 Down, 8 Down, and 20 Down, response to Ralphie's request for a BB gun in "A Christmas Story" |
| 41% | BELIEBER | 8 | Nickname for a fan of the singer of "Love Yourself" and "Sorry" |
| 41% | EUROLAND | 8 | Early nickname for a bloc assembled in the late 1990s |
| 41% | YELLOWHAMMER | 12 | State bird of (and a nickname for) Alabama |
| 40% | TRASHPANDA | 10 | Nickname for a raccoon, given its coloration and its predilection for eating garbage |
| 40% | SHOELESSJOE | 11 | Nickname of "Black Sox" outfielder Jackson who's a character in 18-Across and 32-Across: 2 wds. |
| 40% | NOMAN | 5 | For whom "time and tide wait," in a saying |
| 40% | PLAT | 4 | A rank in video games and short for platinum |
| 40% | LADYBUGS | 8 | Insects known for their distinctive spots ... or a hint to 15-, 23-, 36-, and 48-Across |
| 40% | AROD | 4 | Nickname for a Yankee third baseman who got in trouble for steroid use: Hyph. |
| 40% | THEQUEUE | 8 | Nickname for a 10-mile line of people that made headlines in Sept. 2022 |
| 40% | DREAMSARE | 9 | With 36 Across and 61 Across, a quote by Lupita Nyong'o |