| 100% | BROPE | 5 | Letters which one will have to unjumble to mean a spy's thorough investigation or "probe" |
| 80% | ELUC | 4 | Letters which one will have to unjumble to mean a spy's lead or "clue" |
| 74% | LETIN | 5 | Letters which one will have to unjumble to mean information a spy collects or "intel" |
| 33% | TAPE | 4 | Word after "mix" to mean a handmade playlist of music on a cassette or CD that has been "lost" to time |
| 33% | APTAGRAM | 8 | Word or phrase whose letters can be rearranged to form another with a similar meaning, such as “moon starer” for “astronomer” |
| 31% | MAKESENSE | 9 | To be easy to understand, have a clear meaning |
| 31% | TICKET | 6 | Token or pass that a passenger would have to purchase to travel on 44d |
| 31% | OSCAR | 5 | (With 13-Across) "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go" |
| 30% | BEARDGROWTH | 11 | Why one might have to shave, and a hint to the circled letters |
| 30% | CHANGESTHEWORLD | 15 | Has a huge impact ... or a hint to this puzzle's circled letters |
| 30% | DOLLARSANDCENTS | 15 | Money ... or a hint to how six crossings in this puzzle are to be represented, superimposing one letter over another |
| 30% | SCIENCE | 7 | "___ is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it": Einstein |
| 30% | LETTER | 6 | Medium via which one would have conveyed their romantic feelings to their beloved in olden times |
| 30% | MANSPREADS | 10 | Crowds one's seatmates, in a way ... or a hint to the circled letters |
| 30% | TURNEDTHETABLES | 15 | Regained one's winning status ... or a hint to this puzzle's circled letters |
| 30% | LINING | 6 | Clouds are said to have a silver one |
| 30% | STOP | 4 | In bridge, a protecting card or winner in a suit in which one's opponents are strong |
| 30% | THEREVIEWSAREIN | 15 | "Critics have spoken"... or a hint to what's been added to this puzzle's themed answers |
| 29% | BEE | 3 | You have to be letter-perfect to win one |
| 29% | BEDSIDE | 7 | __ manner, doctors are meant to exhibit a good one |
| 29% | LINING | 6 | Every cloud is supposed to have a silver one |
| 29% | NOODLE | 6 | Ramen or pasta piece ... and a word that can be slangily used to refer to one's "head" |
| 29% | SEAL | 4 | Envelope-closing wax one would have used in olden times to lock a 46a |
| 29% | INCH | 4 | One-twelfth of a foot or unit in which rainfall is measured |
| 29% | INERT | 5 | Like Xenon, which is unlikely to have a bonding experience |
| 29% | TAKEITDOWNANOTCH | 16 | Reduce one’s excitement slightly ... or what you have to do to the final letter of five long answers in this puzzle? |
| 29% | CLUE | 4 | A crossword editor has to be very careful when changing one--unlike this puzzle's editor, who was careless four times herein |
| 29% | RODEO | 5 | There are a lot of bucks to be had in one |
| 29% | ASPS | 4 | Egyptian vipers, one of which is said to have killed Cleopatra |
| 29% | BLINDSPOTS | 10 | Areas about which one is uninformed, or something 17-, 25-, 34- and 51-Across collectively have? |