| 100% | MIDTERM | 7 | Kind of exam, with a hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 79% | GROUP | 5 | With 28-Down, multisubject photos ... or a hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 78% | BIRDSANDBEES | 12 | Subject of "the talk" about sex … or a hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 76% | BARBERSHOP | 10 | With 63-Across, singing group ... or a hint to the ends of the answers to the four starred clues |
| 75% | ISNOT | 5 | One side of a childish debate ... or a phonetic hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 75% | SPLITPEA | 8 | Kind of soup ... or a hint to the answers to the five starred clues |
| 75% | CHUCKBERRY | 10 | One of the original Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, whose name is a hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 72% | ATALOSSFORWORDS | 15 | Dumbfounded ... or a hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 72% | TBS | 3 | Cable channel ... with a hint to the answers to the five starred clues |
| 72% | JUSTADDWATER | 12 | Simple recipe instruction ... or a hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 72% | ITSINTHERE | 10 | Longtime Prego slogan ... with a hint to the answers to the five starred clues |
| 71% | THIS | 4 | With 64-Across, NBC drama ... or, in four parts, a hint to the answers to starred clues |
| 71% | INITIALREACTION | 15 | Off-the-cuff response … and a hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 71% | NEAT | 4 | How whiskey might be served … with a hint to the answers to the seven starred clues |
| 71% | MONEY | 5 | With 11-Down and 58-Across, aphorism about the effect of sudden wealth … or a hint to the answers to the starred clues |
| 70% | LONDON | 6 | 2012 Olympics locale, with a hint to the ends of the answers to the six starred clues |
| 70% | WITHORWITHOUTYOU | 16 | First Billboard #1 hit for U2 ... and a hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 69% | HOMEOFMOUNTRUSHMORE | 19 | What 15-Down is ... or a hint to the answers to the four starred clues in left-to-right order |
| 69% | BUTTONDOWN | 10 | Very conventional ... or a hint to the starts of the answers to the four starred clues |
| 69% | GOFETCH | 7 | Dog command … or a hint to the starts of the answers to the four starred clues |
| 69% | DOWNSIZE | 8 | Diminish the work force ... or a literal hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 69% | MANBABY | 7 | Certain immature adult … with a hint to both halves of the answers to each starred clue |
| 69% | BITTEREND | 9 | R? … or a hint to the answers of the five starred clues |
| 68% | PANDA | 5 | World Wildlife Fund logo ... or a three-word hint to the answers to the four starred clues |
| 68% | ISTOO | 5 | Other side of a childish debate ... or a phonetic hint to the answers to the four double-starred clues |
| 67% | BYEBYEBIRDIE | 12 | Musical with the song "Put On a Happy Face," and a hint to making four answers match their starred clues |
| 67% | COLDFRONTS | 10 | Harbingers of lower temperatures, and a hint to the answers to the starred clues |
| 67% | THINK | 5 | With 19-Across, reconsider ... or a hint to the starts of the five starred clues |
| 66% | HANGINTHERE | 11 | "Stick with it!" … or a hint to the answers to the starred clues |
| 66% | TRADINGPLACES | 13 | Classic 1983 comedy … or a hint to what the answers to four pairs of starred clues are doing |