| 100% | JAZZ | 4 | Genre that "remains distinguishable not by what is played but by how it is played," according to Encyclopedia Britannica |
| 33% | NATURE | 6 | It's "loved by what is best in us," according to Emerson |
| 33% | AHAB | 4 | Literary captain who says, "I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing" |
| 31% | ALLEGED | 7 | How a newspaper article will often refer to something that's been claimed but not proven |
| 29% | NOONE | 5 | Who "knows what it's like to be the bad man," according to a 1971 hit by the Who |
| 29% | SEEMS | 5 | "Sorry ___ to Be the Hardest Word," song by Elton John that talks about how difficult it is to apologize sometimes |
| 28% | BANANA | 6 | Yellow tropical fruit that looks natural but was modified by humans to make it seedless and sweeter |
| 28% | ONTO | 4 | Not going to be played by |
| 28% | OWLS | 4 | Birds that are "not what they seem," according to a "Twin Peaks" line |
| 28% | ABBR | 4 | Letters that may follow some of the clues in the Vox crossword due to it being a small, but not that easy, puzzle |
| 28% | MACAO | 5 | Asian territory that has its own National Olympic Committee but is not allowed to compete at the Olympic Games |
| 27% | CHARMEDLIVES | 12 | What those unaffected by difficulties are said to lead |
| 27% | SEX | 3 | "Physics is like ___: Sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it" (quote attributed to Richard Feynman) |
| 27% | SOFTG | 5 | What "GIF" should be pronounced with, according to its inventor |
| 27% | PALM | 4 | It has lines that can be read but not written |
| 27% | SHAM | 4 | Not what it seems to be |
| 27% | ILLUSORY | 8 | Not what it appears to be |
| 27% | EMO | 3 | Music genre that is characterized by its confessional lyrics |
| 27% | ISEE | 4 | "So that's how it's going to be!" |
| 27% | CAGEFREEEGG | 11 | It may not be all that it's cracked up to be |
| 26% | ISEE | 4 | "Oh, so that's how it's going to be" |
| 26% | POI | 3 | Food whose consistency is measured by how many fingers are needed to scoop it up |
| 26% | OPERA | 5 | "People are wrong when they say ___ is not what it used to be. It is what it used to be. That is what's wrong with it": Noël Coward |
| 26% | YMCA | 4 | Org. that is often referred to by just its first letter |
| 26% | SORTS | 5 | What it's not good to be out of |
| 26% | THATWASNTME | 11 | Song by 32-Across with the lyrics "I'm not asking you to move on or forget it / But these are better days" (3 wds.) |
| 26% | IFA | 3 | "___ number is not divisible by 2, it is said to be odd.": 2 wds |
| 26% | REAL | 4 | What Santa Claus is to kids, but not to adults |
| 26% | REDSEA | 6 | Body of water that was parted by Moses, according to Exodus: 2 wds. |
| 26% | SHARD | 5 | Item that can be described by changing its last letter to a P |