| 100% | NEURALLY | 8 | In a way relating to the brain |
| 66% | MEDICALLY | 9 | In a way related to treatment of illness or injury |
| 64% | BOX | 3 | Container (and, in a way, what you will find outlined by this year's clues related to the mega-meta) |
| 61% | ACINAR | 6 | Relating to the berries in a blackberry, e.g. |
| 59% | SPIRITUAL | 9 | Relating to a belief in the divine |
| 59% | ULNAR | 5 | Relating to a bone in the forearm |
| 58% | MENTAL | 6 | Related to anything in the mind or the brain |
| 56% | MANSPREADS | 10 | Crowds one's seatmates, in a way ... or a hint to the circled letters |
| 56% | INSIDEOUT | 9 | Reversed, in a way ... and a hint to the creation of five puzzle answers |
| 55% | CORTICAL | 8 | Relating to the brain skin |
| 54% | DOUBLEDOWN | 10 | Gamble boldly, in a way … or a hint to the answers to this puzzle's italicized clues |
| 54% | DOCTOREDUP | 10 | Altered, in a way ... and a hint to the org. that helped create the answers to starred clues |
| 54% | TRIMTHETREE | 11 | Decorate for Christmas, in a way, and how to make sense of the answer to each starred clue? |
| 53% | SNORE | 5 | One way to keep a mate awake in the bedroom |
| 53% | OURGANG | 7 | Old group of movie kids that, in a way, the answers to starred clues could be a member of |
| 53% | SHUDDER | 7 | React to the cold, in a way |
| 53% | ITALIC | 6 | Leaning to the right, in a way |
| 53% | WATERS | 6 | Tends to the plants, in a way |
| 53% | HOED | 4 | Tended to the garden, in a way |
| 53% | CCS | 3 | Adds to the chain, in a way |
| 53% | FORUM | 5 | A funny thing happened on the way to this, in an old musical |
| 52% | ENDZONE | 7 | Area that sees lots of spikes, in a way...and a feature in each answer to the six starred clues |
| 51% | CELESTIAL | 9 | Relating to the sky, in astronomy |
| 51% | DURAL | 5 | Relating to an area of the brain |
| 51% | REWIND | 6 | Go back to the start, in a way |
| 51% | SPIN | 4 | Attempt to control the narrative, in a way |
| 51% | MISDIAL | 7 | Get to the wrong party, in a way |
| 51% | SLICEOPEN | 9 | Get to the heart of, in a way |
| 51% | BOWL | 4 | Try to avoid the gutter, in a way |
| 51% | GALACTIC | 8 | Relating to the Milky Way, for example |