| 100% | PIANO | 5 | It's considered to be both a percussion and stringed instrument |
| 44% | LUTE | 4 | Stringed instrument that becomes a woodwind instrument when an F is added to the start of its name |
| 40% | PRO | 3 | It's a plus, and what must be added to 14-, 20- and 29-Across |
| 39% | REALDEAL | 8 | Something considered to be a supremely good example of its kind, with "the" |
| 38% | KETTLEDRUM | 10 | Percussion instrument that can be tuned to a pitch |
| 38% | AGE | 3 | It's said to be "just a number" |
| 37% | LEADINGQUESTION | 15 | It's designed to elicit a certain answer ... or where the end of 17-, 25- and 47-Across may be found |
| 37% | PLOW | 4 | A tractor pulls it and is often used to clear snow |
| 37% | REHAB | 5 | It's supposed to be a sobering experience |
| 37% | HYMNAL | 6 | It's bound to be used in a service |
| 37% | PEN | 3 | It's said to be mightier than a sword |
| 37% | HYMNAL | 6 | It's bound to be used by a congregant |
| 37% | GAGGIFT | 7 | It's meant to be received as a joke? |
| 36% | PUG | 3 | Dog sometimes considered to be so ugly that it's cute |
| 36% | PRAYERBOOK | 10 | It's bound to be of use to a churchgoer |
| 36% | TIME | 4 | It's believed to be distorted within a black hole |
| 36% | JUDE | 4 | He was told to "take a sad song and make it better" |
| 36% | APOEM | 5 | It's said to be not as lovely as a tree |
| 35% | TONIGHT | 7 | (6/7) "...What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song ___!" |
| 35% | PEN | 3 | It's said to be mightier than a sword, in a proverb |
| 35% | ALLEY | 5 | It's unlikely to be part of a big rig's route |
| 35% | XXXXXXXXXXXX | 12 | It's estimated to be a foot in the next 25 years |
| 35% | TRAYTABLE | 9 | It's required to be upright during takeoff and landing |
| 35% | GAB | 3 | It’s said to be a gift |
| 35% | OBOE | 4 | Instrument that may be read on a calculator by typing 3080 and turning it upside down |
| 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% | INSIDE | 6 | Good place to be when it's cold and rainy |
| 35% | AVA | 3 | "For a film to be made is a small miracle. And sometimes it's a large one" speaker DuVernay |
| 35% | ESP | 3 | It's often considered to be pseudoscientific: Abbr. |
| 35% | SHELL | 5 | It's common to a crab and a tortoise |