| 100% | SAW | 3 | I am a woodworker's best friend, I help them cut through planks of wood. Who am I? |
| 56% | CAMERA | 6 | I am a photographer's best friend. I help them capture every memory. Who am I? |
| 56% | CHALK | 5 | I am a teacher's best friend. I help them write on the blackboard. Who am I? |
| 56% | BRUSH | 5 | I am a hairstylist's best friend. I help them comb out stubborn knots. Who am I? |
| 54% | ROD | 3 | I am a fisherman's best friend. I help them pull the fish once it's hooked. Who am I? |
| 52% | KNIFE | 5 | I am a chef's best friend. I help chop veggies for a good stew. Who am I? |
| 36% | EASEL | 5 | I and 28a are an artist's best friends. I hold the canvas. Who am I? |
| 36% | PAINT | 5 | I and 38d are an artist's best friends. I add color to their art. Who am I? |
| 32% | BEAKER | 6 | I'm a lab utensil made of glass and chemists may store 29a in me. Who am I? |
| 30% | TEDLASSO | 8 | TV coach who said, “I think I literally have a better understanding of who killed Kennedy than I do what is offside” |
| 30% | HARE | 4 | I'm a rabbit's "Snow" cousin and the cold never bothered me anyway. Who am I? |
| 30% | WOODY | 5 | Buzz Lightyear's best friend in "Toy Story" who features in the song "You've Got a Friend in Me" |
| 30% | HARRY | 5 | ___ S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States who was also a skilled piano player |
| 29% | DONKEY | 6 | Shrek's best friend in "Shrek" who once said, "Because that's what friends do. They forgive each other" |
| 29% | ENYA | 4 | Singer who was once a member of her family's band, Clannad |
| 28% | ERMA | 4 | Bombeck who wrote If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? |
| 28% | PITSAW | 6 | Cutting tool handled by two people, one of whom is often standing in a hole in the ground |
| 28% | GIRL | 4 | Diamond's best friend, they say |
| 28% | COIN | 4 | I have a head and a tail that will never meet. Having too many of me is always a treat. Who am I? |
| 28% | DRE | 3 | Dr. ___, rapper who was a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru |
| 28% | ACID | 4 | I'm a corrosive liquid that turns litmus paper red. Who am I? |
| 27% | GIRLS | 5 | "Diamonds Are a ___ Best Friend," song performed by Marilyn Monroe in 1953's "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" |
| 27% | REY | 3 | Science-fiction character who's told, "Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi" |
| 27% | JOHNLEGEND | 10 | "All of Me" singer who's back, along with Gwen Stefani, as a veteran coach on "The Voice": 2 wds. |
| 27% | RACCOON | 7 | I'm a nocturnal animal with a bandit mask and nimble paws. Who am I? |
| 27% | ITHASITSUPSANDDOWNS | 19 | "There are positives as well as negatives" ... or a description of this puzzle's theme |
| 27% | TUBE | 4 | I'm a slender "testing" container used to make chemical reactions. Who am I? |
| 26% | GOAT | 4 | I'm a "Mountain" animal and the cold never bothered me anyway. Who am I? |
| 26% | ATTICA | 6 | Site of a 1971 uprising of incarcerated people who were rallying for better conditions and rights |
| 26% | LEOPARD | 7 | I'm a spotted big cat with speed and strength. I rule the night with my majestic sight. Who am I? |