| 100% | ELDER | 5 | Like the first of two siblings, agewise |
| 59% | ESSAY | 5 | Former SAT section that sounds like the first two letters of "SAT" |
| 54% | DOS | 3 | Heading for the first of two columns |
| 53% | NASAL | 5 | Like the first of May or the end of June? |
| 53% | TUE | 3 | The first of two T's, in a familiar sequence |
| 53% | INF | 3 | Like the first two "Brandenburg" Concertos |
| 53% | LESSER | 6 | Like the preferred of two evils |
| 53% | SWUM | 4 | Like the first leg of triathlons |
| 51% | 99TH | 4 | Like the first bottle of beer on the wall |
| 51% | ELDER | 5 | Like the sibling born first |
| 50% | EVEN | 4 | Like the sums of two primes in Goldbach’s conjecture |
| 49% | TEE | 3 | Sporting item shaped like the first letter of this answer |
| 49% | ELDEST | 6 | Like the firstborn of a group of siblings |
| 49% | OLEOLE | 6 | The first two words of “Hot Hot Hot” |
| 49% | LESSER | 6 | Like the more preferable of two evils, idiomatically |
| 49% | STORIED | 7 | Like the Tower of Babel, in two ways |
| 49% | EVEN | 4 | Like the sum of any two odd numbers |
| 48% | DUO | 3 | Group of two, like the Carpenters |
| 48% | WEEKLY | 6 | Like the installments of "A Tale of Two Cities" |
| 48% | ONES | 4 | The first two digits of every Brooklyn ZIP code |
| 47% | OMIT | 4 | Leave off, like the last two words of |
| 47% | UPPER | 5 | Like one of the two jaws |
| 47% | ZORRO | 5 | Swordsman associated with a mark shaped like the first letter of his name |
| 47% | OBIE | 4 | Theater award that aptly sounds like the first letters of "Off" and "Broadway" |
| 46% | DOTTED | 6 | Like two lowercase letters of the alphabet |
| 46% | ELOCUTIONPHRASE | 15 | Exercise in pronunciation ... like the first words of the answers to the starred clues |
| 46% | SAW | 3 | Wise old saying ... like the first words of 20-, 32-, 41- and 52-Across |
| 46% | ADAMS | 5 | Last name of two of the first six US presidents |
| 46% | DUE | 3 | Like rent on the first of the month |
| 46% | OURFATHER | 9 | First two words of the Lord's Prayer |