| 100% | OGO | 3 | First of this series of satellites, launched Sep. 4, 1964, was seen re-entering Earth's atmosphere over French Polynesia on Aug. 29, 2020 (abbr.) |
| 22% | NITROGEN | 8 | 78% of Earth's atmosphere is made of this gas |
| 22% | NHL | 3 | The first of these was declared on October 9, 1960 and the latest - Medgar Evers House - was on February 16, 2017 (abbr.) |
| 20% | DUE | 3 | Rent is this on the first of the month |
| 20% | JEEP | 4 | The 2020 Gladiator is this brand's first pick-up truck in over 25 years |
| 19% | NITROGEN | 8 | Earth's atmosphere is 78% this element |
| 19% | TOP | 3 | "Don't worry, I am on ___ of this" ("It's under control") |
| 19% | SPUTNIK | 7 | First artificial satellite to enter Earth's orbit |
| 19% | BIGTOE | 6 | On the Statue of Liberty, this digit is over four feet long |
| 19% | NITROGEN | 8 | This gas makes up around 78% of Earth's atmosphere |
| 19% | ENDIN | 5 | "There's no ___ sight." ("Not sure when all of this will be over."): 2 wds. |
| 18% | SELENAGOMEZ | 11 | "Come & Get It" singer whose first TV series lead role was on Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place": 2 wds. |
| 18% | DOG | 3 | President Trump is the first president in over 100 years not to have one of these |
| 18% | ANNA | 4 | First recipient of successful pulmonary bypass surgery was this dog, operated on in 1943 |
| 18% | AQUA | 4 | NASA satellite launched in Earth orbit on May 4, 2002 to study and measure radiance, reflectance and backscatter |
| 18% | ESD | 3 | USNS Montford Point and USNS John Glenn are the first two US Navy ships of this classification (abbr.) |
| 18% | WREATH | 6 | * You know Christmas is right around the corner when you see this "garland of twigs" on the door |
| 18% | SIRI | 4 | In 2011, this Apple voice assistant will first be heard on your iPhone 4 |
| 18% | PASSWORD | 8 | Enter this series of characters to log in |
| 18% | ODDS | 4 | "The Wizard of ___" (punnily titled series that was Alex Trebek's first US game show) |
| 17% | LILIES | 6 | "Water ___," a series of oil paintings by French impressionist Claude Monet which are on display at museums across the world |
| 17% | MAN | 3 | Adam was the first of this kind |
| 17% | ELM | 3 | Over 50% of the trees in NYC's Central Park are of this variety |
| 17% | ONE | 3 | "___ of these things is not like the others" (lyric heard on "Sesame Street") |
| 17% | INARO | 5 | Indirectly ... or how some of this puzzle's answers should be entered? |
| 17% | KOOL | 4 | Get Down On It was one of this funky gang's hits |
| 17% | MONTYPYTHON | 11 | ...this Brit group was first seen on US TVs |
| 17% | OCEANVUONG | 10 | "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" author whose first name is a large body of water: 2 wds. |
| 17% | LAYER | 5 | Ozone ___ (part of Earth's atmosphere) |
| 17% | ARGON | 5 | About 1% of Earth's atmosphere, and a phonetic hint to this puzzle's gimmick |