| 100% | SHADE | 5 | Have it made in the ___ (have an easy life) |
| 56% | SHADE | 5 | "He's got it made in the ___" ("He's living the good life") |
| 54% | MEX | 3 | Its flag has an eagle in the center: Abbr. |
| 53% | CORNCOBPIPE | 11 | It's made from an ear and put in the mouth |
| 52% | ALCS | 4 | An Astro has won its MVP in four of the last six years |
| 51% | NIP | 3 | "We have to ___ it in the bud." (stop at an early stage) |
| 51% | NIP | 3 | "We have to ___ it in the bud" (stop at an early stage) |
| 49% | HOME | 4 | "___ stretch," common phrase used to refer to the final part of an activity, that has its origins in horse racing |
| 49% | YANGTZE | 7 | It has its outlet in the East China Sea |
| 48% | LISP | 4 | "Whose cruel idea was it for the word '___' to have an S in it?" (Steven Wright joke) |
| 48% | SAILINGALONG | 12 | Having an easy time of it |
| 48% | EDEN | 4 | Survival thriller, set on an idyllic island in the Galápagos, that had its première at TIFF (September, 2024) |
| 48% | OASIS | 5 | It has a spring in the middle |
| 48% | MOREL | 5 | It has a cap in the kitchen |
| 48% | SOS | 3 | It has three dashes in the middle |
| 48% | RATIO | 5 | It has a colon in the middle |
| 48% | BELLY | 5 | It has a button in the middle |
| 47% | TUBA | 4 | It has a solo near the end of "An American in Paris" |
| 47% | LSD | 3 | Steve Jobs called it "one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life" |
| 47% | TOWN | 4 | It may have a square in the middle |
| 47% | TENT | 4 | It may have a mess in the Army |
| 47% | ARENA | 5 | It often has a ring in the middle |
| 46% | SEMICOLON | 9 | It makes up the eyes in a winking emoticon |
| 46% | OWL | 3 | X the ___ (puppet who lives in an oak tree in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood of Make-Believe) |
| 46% | ELI | 3 | ___ Manning, football quarterback who retired in 2020 and has made it to the Pro Bowl four times |
| 46% | MARSHAL | 7 | ___ Yanda, football guard who retired in 2020 and has made it to the Pro Bowl eight times |
| 46% | ARM | 3 | Has an elbow in the middle |
| 46% | CARES | 5 | Has an interest in the outcome |
| 45% | GATES | 5 | Antonio ___, football tight-end who retired in 2020 and has made it to the Pro Bowl eight times |
| 45% | CBS | 3 | It has an eye on the tube |