| 100% | ULTRAHOT | 8 | Like the core of the sun |
| 76% | ARCED | 5 | Like the path of the sun in the sky |
| 69% | RAYED | 5 | Like a child's drawing of the sun |
| 68% | RAY | 3 | Light beam, like that of the sun |
| 68% | MOLTEN | 6 | Like the outer core of the earth |
| 66% | METAPHORIC | 10 | Like "chariot of fire" for the sun |
| 64% | NEAREST | 7 | Like Proxima Centauri, of all stars but the sun |
| 64% | BURGESS | 7 | British author of Nothing Like the Sun |
| 64% | LUNISOLAR | 9 | Like a calendar that combines the positions of the 9-Across and the sun |
| 59% | JAPAN | 5 | The Land of the Rising Sun |
| 59% | POLAR | 5 | Like the end of the world |
| 59% | ELITE | 5 | Like the best of the best |
| 59% | AONE | 4 | Like the cream of the crop |
| 59% | AXIAL | 5 | Like the rotation of the earth |
| 59% | WICKED | 6 | Like the Witch of the West |
| 59% | CHRISTIAN | 9 | Like the sign of the fish |
| 59% | PUNY | 4 | Like the runt of the litter |
| 59% | LEONINE | 7 | Like the king of the jungle |
| 59% | RUNTY | 5 | Like the smallest of the litter |
| 59% | AHEAD | 5 | Like the leader of the pack |
| 59% | POCKMARKED | 10 | Like the surface of the moon |
| 59% | TIDAL | 5 | Like the motion of the ocean |
| 59% | RANDOM | 6 | Like the luck of the draw |
| 59% | TOPTIER | 7 | Like the cream of the crop |
| 59% | GREGARIOUS | 10 | Like the life of the party |
| 59% | DEEP | 4 | Like the pockets of the wealthy |
| 59% | LUSTY | 5 | Like The Taming of the Shrew |
| 59% | ELITE | 5 | Like the cream of the crop |
| 59% | MOORISH | 7 | Like the architecture of the Alhambra |
| 59% | SONNET | 6 | One of Shakespeare's begins "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun" |