| 100% | SWUM | 4 | Like the English Channel for the first time in 1875 |
| 51% | AWAY | 4 | Like the winning team in every World Series game, for the first time ever (October, 2019) |
| 51% | GRAYHOLE | 8 | Outer space phenomenon photographed for the first time in 2019 |
| 50% | BARBIE | 6 | Doll that ran for president for the first time in 1992 |
| 50% | ASIA | 4 | Where the Olympics were held for the first time in 1964 |
| 50% | SAUDI | 5 | ___ Arabia (nation where women voted for the first time in 2015) |
| 50% | WOMENSWORLDCUP | 14 | FIFA event held for the first time in 1991 (3 wds.) |
| 50% | RADIO | 5 | It was used to play music for the first time in 1906 |
| 49% | VINYLS | 6 | Records that outsold CDs in 2022, for the first time in 35 years |
| 49% | MELBA | 5 | Dame Nellie, who sang at the Met for the first time in 1893 |
| 49% | SAUDIS | 6 | Women who were legally permitted to drive for the first time in 2018 |
| 49% | LPS | 3 | In 2020, they outsold CDs for the first time since 1986 |
| 49% | SQUID | 5 | Colossal ___, marine animal filmed in its natural habitat for the first time in 2025 |
| 49% | USPOSTAGE | 9 | It fell in 2016 for the first time since 1919 |
| 48% | TRIB | 4 | Pub. whose editorial page endorsed a Democrat for president for the first time in 2008 |
| 48% | JAMESBOND | 9 | British spy played by 33-Across for the first time in 48-Across (2 wds.) |
| 48% | MARINEONE | 9 | Presidential carrier that flew with an all-women crew for the first time in 2009 |
| 48% | COEDS | 5 | Some University of Virginia undergrads in 1969, for the first time |
| 48% | POI | 3 | Food that tourists in Hawaii often try for the first time |
| 48% | FLIES | 5 | In the musical "Wicked," what Elphaba does for the first time during "Defying Gravity" |
| 48% | LUAU | 4 | Party where tourists in Hawaii might try poi for the first time |
| 47% | DRWHO | 5 | BBC classic whose title role will be played by a woman for the first time in 2017 |
| 47% | ELSA | 4 | "For the First Time in Forever" duettist |
| 47% | VINYL | 5 | Medium that outsold CDs in 2020 for the first time since the 1980s |
| 47% | JOSEFELICIANO | 13 | His 1970 song "Feliz Navidad" hit the top 10 for the first time ever in 2020: 2 wds. |
| 46% | CHUCKBERRY | 10 | His 1958 song "Run Rudolph Run" hit the top 10 for the first time ever in 2021: 2 wds. |
| 46% | ACHES | 5 | Some things to complain about after you've just played flag football for the first time in nine years |
| 46% | NOAH | 4 | Most popular boy's name in 2013, demoting Jacob for the first time since 1999 |
| 46% | MIAS | 4 | Lucien —, captain of the France rugby union team that won the Five Nations outright for the first time in 1959 |
| 46% | LYMEREGIS | 9 | Resort in Dorset on the English Channel noted for its prehistoric fossils |