| 100% | PODSOL | 6 | Infertile soil in forests (also spelled with a Z) |
| 39% | HOED | 4 | Cleared soil in a garden with a hand tool |
| 39% | MEDOC | 5 | French red wine with a physician in its spelling |
| 38% | BRASIL | 6 | Country whose name Americans spell with a "z" |
| 37% | KORAN | 5 | Text with 114 suwar, in a classic spelling |
| 35% | SKYWRITE | 8 | Spell with a plane |
| 35% | LIZA | 4 | "___, With a Z" |
| 35% | SOS | 3 | Letters spelled out with rocks on a desert island, in cartoons |
| 35% | MOSSY | 5 | Covered with fuzzy green growth, as a rock in the forest |
| 35% | POT | 3 | Winnings in Poker, also a word with "belly" or "hole" |
| 35% | CLICK | 5 | *What you do with a mouse, also a sound you'd hear often in a tech space |
| 34% | MINNELLI | 8 | Liza ... with a Z |
| 34% | SCORPION | 8 | *Arachnid with a sharp sting you may spot in 38d ... also the Zodiac symbol for a November-born |
| 34% | ANDOR | 5 | Choice spelled with a slash |
| 34% | ACAI | 4 | Berry spelled with a cedilla |
| 34% | EMO | 3 | Aesthetic whose spelled-out name is rhymed with piano in a Childish Gambino song |
| 34% | ZORRO | 5 | Swordsman with a Z signature |
| 34% | SNOW | 4 | "___ White" fairy tale about a girl who lived in a forest with seven dwarfs |
| 33% | TIGGER | 6 | A.A. Milne's feline character, also friend of 18d, with double "G's" in his name |
| 33% | LIZA | 4 | "___ With a Z" (1972 Emmy-winning show) |
| 33% | AHA | 3 | Exclamation sometimes spelled with a hyphen |
| 33% | ANDOR | 5 | Flexible conjunction spelled with a slash |
| 33% | BOBFOSSE | 8 | "Liza With a Z" Emmy winner |
| 33% | MUD | 3 | Soil in a sty |
| 33% | HUNTER | 6 | Person in a forest with a gun, chasing animals |
| 33% | ABBA | 4 | Group correctly spelled with a backward B |
| 33% | IONIC | 5 | With a charge, in chemistry |
| 32% | BLANCHETT | 9 | "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" actress Cate who also won an Oscar for her role in "Blue Jasmine" |
| 32% | CRESCENDO | 9 | With a gradual increase in loudness |
| 32% | BYFAR | 5 | With a huge margin in between |