| 100% | STENNIS | 7 | Former U.S. senator John C. ___, whose name can be formed by combining 44 Down and 22 Across and reversing the whole thing |
| 35% | BEN | 3 | With 22-Across, former senator whose name can be spelled using only the letters in NEBRASKA (his home state) |
| 34% | TUNIS | 5 | World capital whose name can be formed by removing letters from the end of its country's name |
| 33% | OREO | 4 | Treat whose name can be formed by concatenating a Cirque du Soleil show and a car |
| 29% | CENA | 4 | John who plays a mercenary in "Peacemaker," and whose name can be found in "mercenary" |
| 28% | CHER | 4 | Singer/actress whose name can be found at the ends of 17-, 31-, and 43-Across |
| 28% | MARTIANMISSIONS | 15 | NASA endeavors whose vehicles can be found at the ends of 17-, 22-, 51- and 57-Across |
| 28% | TRIVIA | 6 | "Hawaii and Tennessee are the only two U.S. states whose names end in doubled letters," e.g. |
| 27% | CAVALIERS | 9 | With 15a, it's the name of the NBA team whose mascots are Moondog and Sir C.C. and which is part-owned by Usher |
| 27% | BLACK | 5 | "___ Hawk Down," 2001 war film about the 1993 raid in Mogadishu by the U.S. military, whose music was composed by Hans Zimmer |
| 27% | ATTY | 4 | One whose name can be followed by "Esq.": Abbr. |
| 26% | ORION | 5 | Constellation whose belt is formed by the stars Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka |
| 26% | RINGO | 5 | Rock star whose name is spelled out by the middle letters of 16-, 18-, 39-, 61- and 64-Across |
| 26% | COLLECTORSITEMS | 15 | Things gathered by aficionados ... or what the ends of 16-, 24-, 49- and 59-Across can be? |
| 26% | KEYS | 4 | PC things, which can be found at the starts of 14-, 22-, 37-, 46- and 61-Across |
| 26% | BUILDABEAR | 10 | What you can do by combining the last words of 17-, 30- and 44-Across |
| 26% | MEN | 3 | Of Mice and ___, "Restoring Force" band whose name is inspired by a John Steinbeck novel |
| 26% | DRIVE | 5 | The Cars Top 10 hit whose video was directed by actor Timothy Hutton and stars model Paulina Porizkova (who married 44-Across) |
| 26% | ROLLING | 7 | The ___ Stones, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" band whose name was inspired by a Muddy Waters song |
| 26% | ASL | 3 | Syst. in which "Deaf Power" can be indicated by an open palm over one ear and the other hand forming a closed fist in the air |
| 26% | ALBAN | 5 | Berg whose first name is formed by inserting a B inside 73 Down |
| 25% | TOP | 3 | ZZ ___, band with the song "Gimme All Your Lovin'" whose name was inspired by ZZ King and BB Hill |
| 25% | BADGUY | 6 | Hit song by the 1-Across winner whose name is spelled out by the final three letters of 21-, 25-, 47- and 52-Across |
| 25% | EASYA | 5 | No-brainer class, an example of which is named by combining the ends of 20-, 36-, 42- and 55-Across |
| 25% | NASA | 4 | Hit song by Ariana Grande from her 2019 album whose title is named after the U.S. space agency |
| 25% | AVADUVERNAY | 11 | "When They See Us" director whose first name is spelled the same forward and backward: 2 wds. |
| 25% | SIXTIMEWINNER | 13 | Unique claim of the U.S. Open player whose name is hidden in 34-Across |
| 25% | PATENTS | 7 | Sony's filing of a McDonald's commercial that can be ended by shouting "McDonald's!" at the screen, and the like |
| 24% | AIKIDO | 6 | Martial art whose name is formed from the kanji for “harmony,” “spirit,” and “way” |