| 100% | MIDWINTER | 9 | In the Bleak __, carol with words by Rossetti |
| 50% | AND | 3 | Word usually indicated in charades by bringing the thumb close together with the index finger |
| 47% | SAND | 4 | "Love Letters in the ___," song with an ocean-related word in the title, a version of which was sung by Pat Boone |
| 47% | SAND | 4 | "Love Letters in the ___," song with an ocean-related word in the title, a version of which was sang by Pat Boone |
| 46% | NOEL | 4 | (2/3) Pere ___ is the name he goes by in France, which is also a word for a carol |
| 46% | OHOLYNIGHT | 10 | Carol with the words "hear the angel voices" |
| 45% | START | 5 | Word by the first square in a board game, often |
| 44% | SKY | 3 | "Lucy in the ___ With Diamonds," song by the Beatles |
| 43% | MINE | 4 | Word repeated by the seagulls in “Finding Nemo” |
| 42% | HEART | 5 | & 18D Song with words by David Garrick first performed in pantomime Harlequin's Invasion in 1760 |
| 42% | MINE | 4 | The only word said by the seagulls in "Finding Nemo" |
| 42% | HUSH | 4 | Word whispered by the quiet old lady in "Goodnight Moon" |
| 42% | OUI | 3 | Word rhymed with "ami" by Lafayette in "Hamilton" |
| 41% | COP | 3 | Word used with "buddy" in many action films involving the police |
| 41% | AMORE | 5 | Word that can aptly be spelled with the letters in romance |
| 41% | DWELL | 5 | Word rhymed with "hotel" by Elvis in "Heartbreak Hotel" |
| 41% | LOOK | 4 | "___ Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's" (memoir by John Elder Robison) |
| 41% | HELLO | 5 | Word whose rise in popularity coincided with the spread of the telephone |
| 41% | MTV | 3 | Channel launched in 1981 with a video by the Buggles |
| 41% | MADLIB | 6 | Story with blanks to be filled in by the reader |
| 40% | RONALD | 6 | With 19 Across, leader portrayed by Alan Rickman in "Lee Daniels' The Butler" |
| 40% | SONS | 4 | Word in the titles of novels by Ivan Turgenev and D. H. Lawrence |
| 40% | MAMA | 4 | Word with the same meaning in English, Swahili and Mandarin, among other languages |
| 40% | TWO | 3 | Number of words beginning with the letter "f" in this puzzle |
| 40% | CIARDI | 6 | Poet with the longtime NPR program "A Word in Your Ear" |
| 40% | AWAYINAMANGER | 13 | Christmas carol with the lyrics "Bless all the dear children / In your tender care" (4 wds.) |
| 40% | SCROOGE | 7 | Ebenezer ___, villain in the 1984 film "A Christmas Carol" who is played by George C. Scott |
| 39% | FLYING | 6 | With 36-Down, creature voiced by Zach Braff in "Oz the Great and Powerful" |
| 39% | WILLY | 5 | With 33-Across, candymaker played by Johnny Depp in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" |