| 100% | METADATA | 8 | Information about a file, such as the date it was created |
| 45% | LINKINGVERB | 11 | Word such as "be" ... or a punny description of the seven-letter word that can create new action words when its letters are inserted in the breaks of the circled action words |
| 40% | STARGAZER | 9 | Fish such as the Atlantic — or giant — whose eyes are atop its head |
| 38% | REMORA | 6 | Elongated marine fish such as the Common — with a sucking disc on the top of its head |
| 38% | SEX | 3 | It can be had over the phone or as a group |
| 38% | GIANTSQUID | 10 | Its 31-Down is about the size of a dinner plate |
| 37% | ANT | 3 | Its larva is eaten as a delicacy in the Mexican dish escamoles |
| 36% | TWEET | 5 | Message such as @skullmandible's "most cutting thing you can say is 'who's this clown?' because it implies they're a) a clown & b) not even one of the better-known clowns" |
| 36% | MAINE | 5 | It was created by the Missouri Compromise |
| 35% | INVERSE | 7 | The opposite sounds like it is written as a poem? |
| 35% | TAX | 3 | “Cheese ___” (viral TikTok song about the fee that a dog demands when its owner is cooking) |
| 34% | ORB | 3 | Another word for a sphere, such as the Sun, which is an ___ of light |
| 34% | TONYCURTIS | 10 | "Some Like It Hot" star whose first name is the same as a Broadway award: 2 wds. |
| 34% | WEBLOG | 6 | It is the same as blog |
| 34% | SLUR | 4 | In music, a curved line indicating that the notes in its limits be played smoothly, as one phrase |
| 33% | SKERRIES | 8 | Series of small rocky islands such as the Aland Is |
| 33% | OMISSION | 8 | It is a sin as well as commission |
| 33% | OLDVIC | 6 | It was originally established as the Royal Coburg Theatre |
| 33% | TULANE | 6 | It was founded as the Medical College of Louisiana |
| 33% | REALISM | 7 | The practice of accepting a situation as it is |
| 33% | PLUTO | 5 | It was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 |
| 32% | RYANLOCHTE | 10 | American swimmer who lost Speedo USA as a sponsor after he lied about being robbed at the Rio Olympics: 2 wds. |
| 32% | SHOULDER | 8 | It is formed by bones such as clavicle and scapula |
| 32% | MSN | 3 | It was launched on the same day as Windows 95 |
| 32% | IBM | 3 | It was originally founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. |
| 32% | TEA | 3 | It was thrown into the harbor in a 1773 "party" |
| 32% | ORANGE | 6 | It is the New Black, according to a Netflix drama |
| 32% | QUEBRACHO | 9 | South American tree such as the Red — whose wood is used in tanning |
| 32% | MISSISSIPPIRIVER | 16 | It was known by the Algonquin as the "Father of Waters" |
| 32% | NEWS | 4 | None of it is good, as the saying goes |