| 100% | PAINT | 5 | I and 38d are an artist's best friends. I add color to their art. Who am I? |
| 58% | EASEL | 5 | I and 28a are an artist's best friends. I hold the canvas. Who am I? |
| 41% | CAMERA | 6 | I am a photographer's best friend. I help them capture every memory. Who am I? |
| 38% | CHALK | 5 | I am a teacher's best friend. I help them write on the blackboard. Who am I? |
| 38% | BRUSH | 5 | I am a hairstylist's best friend. I help them comb out stubborn knots. Who am I? |
| 37% | KNIFE | 5 | I am a chef's best friend. I help chop veggies for a good stew. Who am I? |
| 37% | SAW | 3 | I am a woodworker's best friend, I help them cut through planks of wood. Who am I? |
| 36% | ROD | 3 | I am a fisherman's best friend. I help them pull the fish once it's hooked. Who am I? |
| 34% | WOLF | 4 | I'm an "Arctic" canine and the cold never bothered me anyway. Who am I? |
| 31% | WOJNAROWICZ | 11 | Artist and AIDS activist David who wrote, “WHEN I WAS TOLD THAT I’D CONTRACTED THIS VIRUS IT DIDN’T TAKE ME LONG TO REALIZE THAT I’D CONTRACTED A DISEASED SOCIETY AS WELL” |
| 30% | THEFRIENDSWEMADEALONG | 21 | With 126/127 Across, companions on our life's journey who were more valuable to us than our destination ... and an alternate title for this puzzle |
| 29% | HARE | 4 | I'm a rabbit's "Snow" cousin and the cold never bothered me anyway. Who am I? |
| 28% | GOAT | 4 | I'm a "Mountain" animal and the cold never bothered me anyway. Who am I? |
| 28% | WHALE | 5 | I'm a "Beluga" Arctic mammal and the cold never bothered me anyway. Who am I? |
| 28% | SEAL | 4 | I'm a "Crabeater" Antarctic animal and the cold never bothered me anyway. Who am I? |
| 28% | BEAR | 4 | I'm a large "Polar" animal and the cold never bothered me anyway. Who am I? |
| 28% | MEL | 3 | Brooks who wrote, “If I cut my finger, that’s tragedy. Comedy is if you walk into an open sewer and die” |
| 28% | RACCOON | 7 | I'm a nocturnal animal with a bandit mask and nimble paws. Who am I? |
| 27% | GLOVES | 6 | I'm the second skin that protects chemist's hands and I always come in pairs. Who am I? |
| 27% | MITSKI | 6 | Singer who wrote the lyric "Give me one good movie kiss and I'll be alright" |
| 27% | TUBE | 4 | I'm a slender "testing" container used to make chemical reactions. Who am I? |
| 27% | ADAM | 4 | Singer Lambert who was the first openly gay artist to have an album début at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 |
| 27% | WAYNEGRETZKY | 12 | Edmonton Oiler and LA King who was the NHL's MVP nine times from 1980 to 1989: 2 wds. |
| 27% | SCRIPTNOTES | 11 | Screenplay suggestions from the studio, and what's been added to the theme titles |
| 27% | BEAKER | 6 | I'm a lab utensil made of glass and chemists may store 29a in me. Who am I? |
| 26% | FILLERWORD | 10 | Sound added to everyday speech, and what's been added to create the answers to the starred clues |
| 26% | CRICKET | 7 | I have thin wings and long legs. I chirp only in the night. Who am I? |
| 26% | NERO | 4 | Roman emperor who said before dying, "What an artist the world is losing in me!" |
| 26% | COAT | 4 | I'm the white cape that chemists wear to protect from messy reactions. Who am I? |
| 26% | TEAK | 4 | Plant whose name becomes that of a meat product when an s is added to the beginning |