| 100% | COMBUBBLE | 9 | Lead-up to a Web implosion of the late 1990s (5) |
| 46% | ENDPLAY | 7 | Tactical play in the last few tricks of a game of bridge forcing an opponent to make a particular lead |
| 44% | ATLANTIS | 8 | Name of the last Space Shuttle to complete a mission |
| 43% | STAIRCASE | 9 | Set of steps leading up to a higher level |
| 42% | SPANISHSTEPS | 12 | Stairway in Rome leading up to the church of the Santissima Trinita dei Monti |
| 42% | BODICE | 6 | Upper part of a dress to the waistline |
| 42% | ENERO | 5 | First month of the year, to many a 5-Down character |
| 42% | SETPOINT | 8 | In tennis, the last one to win a group of games |
| 41% | PREOP | 5 | Leading up to a procedure |
| 41% | PRENATAL | 8 | Period of pregnancy leading up to the birth |
| 41% | ZED | 3 | Last letter of the alphabet, to a Torontonian |
| 40% | STAIRSTEP | 9 | Part of a flight leading to the next floor |
| 40% | HOMESTRETCH | 11 | Last leg of a race ... or a hint to the circled letters |
| 40% | SETUP | 5 | Part of a joke that leads to the punch line |
| 40% | STAIRSTEP | 9 | Part of a flight leading to the second floor, say |
| 40% | AHS | 3 | Sounds leading up to a sneeze |
| 39% | PAIL | 4 | "Jack & Jill went up the hill to fetch a ___ of water..." |
| 39% | REEL | 4 | Part of a fishing rod used to wind up the line |
| 39% | TVVCR | 5 | Combination recording innovation of the late '80s that you can pick up for $10 (if that!) at a yard sale |
| 39% | HYPE | 4 | It may lead up to a letdown |
| 39% | DOTCOM | 6 | ___ bubble (economic phenomenon of the late 1990s) |
| 39% | PLAYOFFS | 8 | Games leading up to a championship game |
| 39% | PAIL | 4 | "Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a ___ of water" |
| 39% | CLIMB | 5 | Go up, like someone trying to reach the top of a mountain |
| 39% | MOUNTAINCLIMBER | 15 | One who encounters the last parts of the answers to the starred clues on the way up |
| 39% | DOTCOMBOOM | 10 | Short-lived economic expansion of the late 1990s |
| 39% | EDORGERON | 9 | 2019 SEC Coach of the Year who led the 48-Across to a national championship (2 wds.) |
| 39% | ENDGAME | 7 | Chess match climax, and what the last word of each answer to a starred clue can have |
| 38% | FURBIES | 7 | Speaking furry toys, must-have of the late 1990s |