| 100% | CLUE | 4 | Hint for someone trying to unravel a mystery |
| 84% | CLUE | 4 | Hint for someone trying to solve a mystery |
| 52% | HINT | 4 | Little nudge for someone trying to solve a puzzle |
| 42% | XMARKSTHETOPS | 13 | Hint for identifying a mystery man's shirts? |
| 41% | CLIMB | 5 | Go up, like someone trying to reach the top of a mountain |
| 39% | POLYAMORY | 9 | Practice for someone with a lot of love to give? |
| 39% | LIMBURGER | 9 | One trying to shake a leg, for instance? |
| 39% | MIRACLES | 8 | Unexplainable events that are required for someone to become a saint |
| 39% | LANPARTY | 8 | Onetime gathering for people trying to make a connection? |
| 39% | DELEGATE | 8 | Someone chosen by a group to speak for them |
| 39% | AUDITION | 8 | To try out for a part in a movie |
| 38% | LENT | 4 | Allowed someone to use for a while |
| 38% | LENT | 4 | Allowed someone to borrow for a while |
| 38% | AUDITION | 8 | Performance to try out for a part |
| 38% | SURE | 4 | Affirmative reply to someone asking for a favor |
| 38% | PAR | 3 | Score to try for on a golf course |
| 38% | CRACKTHECASE | 12 | Solve a mystery, and a hint to the answers to the starred clues |
| 38% | EMPLOY | 6 | To give someone a job, to have them work for you |
| 37% | INDEBT | 6 | Under obligation to someone for a service (2 wds) |
| 37% | MEGOROUND | 9 | Ride on which to try for a brass ring |
| 37% | FOURH | 5 | Club for farm kids ... or a hint to 97-Across |
| 37% | VIEWPOINT | 9 | Perspective (see 19-Down for a hint to the circles) |
| 37% | PLEASEDONT | 10 | Entreaty to someone obviously gearing up for a cringeworthy impression |
| 36% | ZOMBIFIED | 9 | Like someone glued to a screen for hours, jocularly |
| 36% | UPLATE | 6 | Like someone glued to a screen for hours, maybe |
| 36% | BTOB | 4 | Like intercompany trade, for short, and a hint to the starred answers |
| 36% | ESPYAWARDS | 10 | Honors for athletes, and a phonetic hint to this puzzle's theme |
| 36% | ASTHEWORLDTURNS | 15 | TV soap for 54 years ... and a hint to the puzzle circles |
| 36% | EXTREMEMEASURES | 15 | Desperate situations call for them, and a hint to the circled letters |
| 36% | TOYBOXES | 8 | Places for playthings, with a hint to this puzzle's shaded squares |