| 100% | EAR | 3 | In one ___ and out the other (how a word may travel through someone's brain--or through this puzzle grid) |
| 43% | DOUBLED*PPERS | 13 | Ones committing a party foul ... or the images depicted in this puzzle's grid? |
| 40% | NOWYOUSEEITNOWYOUDONT | 21 | Magic words … or a hint to the other long answers in this puzzle |
| 39% | PRIVATELY | 9 | "Between us"... or the word hidden between U and S in this puzzle's theme entries |
| 39% | COLDOPEN | 8 | Certain TV intro ... or a description of each of 12 letters in the grid (the starts of six Across entries and then six Down entries) that spell out an alternate title for this puzzle |
| 39% | LEADDETECTIVES | 14 | Ones in charge of a case ... or a literal hint to the eight other longest answers in this puzzle |
| 38% | EAR | 3 | In one and out the other? |
| 37% | BACKPACK | 8 | Travel the world with one bag, and what can be found in this puzzle's circled letters? |
| 37% | COMPASS | 7 | Provider of directions ... or a hint to the four "+" shapes in this puzzle's grid |
| 37% | TEST | 4 | Any of the eight circled words in this puzzle, and what's spelled out by their intersections |
| 36% | MILKSHAKES | 10 | Diner treats ... or a hint to what's happening to the words in the circled squares in this puzzle? |
| 36% | CIRCLEBACK | 10 | Return to a subject in conversation, and what this puzzle's author did to make the examples stand out |
| 35% | EAR | 3 | In one ___ and out the other |
| 35% | EAR | 3 | In one __ and out the other |
| 35% | TIMES | 5 | Square where the words in this puzzle's dropping balls may be heard at the end of a song's first verse |
| 35% | COUNTDOWN | 9 | What might end the year, and a hint to five answers in this puzzle |
| 35% | STOPMAKINGSENSE | 15 | No longer be comprehensible ... and, with its first word divided in three parts, a hint to how to read this puzzle's title |
| 35% | STATELINES | 10 | Borders represented four times in this puzzle — both in the grid and on a map |
| 34% | DISAPPEARINGACT | 15 | Part of a magic show, and the key to understanding this puzzle's one-word clues |
| 34% | GULLIBLE | 8 | How you might feel after reading the third letter of every clue in this puzzle for a secret message |
| 34% | THATESCALATEDQUICKLY | 20 | Remark about how things got out of hand in a hurry ... or a remark about this puzzle |
| 34% | BLACKCOMEDY | 11 | Morbid humor ... or a hint to how the thematic clues in this puzzle reimagine representation on TV? |
| 34% | HAL | 3 | Name that's one of the halves of a word in this clue |
| 34% | FAD | 3 | It's in one year and out the other |
| 34% | FAD | 3 | It's in one era and out the other |
| 34% | BLACK | 5 | With 41- and 43-Across, cop cruiser ... or a description of the five animals named in this puzzle |
| 34% | CORPORATEMERGER | 15 | Business acquisition ... or a hint to how the answers to the starred clues in this puzzle were formed? |
| 34% | EAR | 3 | "In one ___ and out the other" |
| 33% | RAILROADED | 10 | Convicted hastily and unfairly ... or, in a way, like the four other longest puzzle answers? |
| 33% | PEN | 3 | A thick colored one might be useful in cracking this puzzle's meta |