| 100% | KNELT | 5 | Lowered oneself to the ground in order to be knighted |
| 44% | DOBERMANN | 9 | ___ Pinscher, a German breed that was originally bred in order to protect the owner |
| 43% | LUNA | 4 | 200 foot redwood that Julia Butterfly Hill lived in, 180 feet above the ground, for 738 days in 1997-9, in order to save it from being felled (she did!) |
| 43% | LINEUP | 6 | The order that players are up to bat in baseball |
| 40% | HOPKINS | 7 | Anthony ___, "The Silence of the Lambs" actor who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for services to Drama |
| 40% | TUILERIES | 9 | Former Paris palace, burned to the ground in 1871 |
| 40% | LEVITATE | 8 | To lift oneself off the ground telepathically |
| 40% | OLDSTYLE | 8 | In the way it used to be |
| 40% | CLOCKWISE | 9 | How this puzzle's grid must be rotated in order to read the answers to the starred clues, when written in 17-Across |
| 40% | AGE | 3 | 18+, e.g., in order to be able to vote |
| 40% | RASED | 5 | Demolished to the ground (how a Londoner will spell it?) |
| 40% | GENUFLECT | 9 | Bend one knee to the ground in respect or worship |
| 40% | FAA | 3 | US govt. body that in March 2019 finally issued the order to ground all US Boeing 737 MAX airplanes |
| 40% | AHOPSKIPANDAJUMP | 16 | Trivial distance, or what can be paired, in order, with the starts of the answers to the starred clues |
| 40% | BEN | 3 | ___ Kingsley, "Gandhi" actor who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002 for services to the British film industry |
| 40% | EVOLVES | 7 | Changes over the years, in order to adapt |
| 39% | HOMEOFMOUNTRUSHMORE | 19 | What 15-Down is ... or a hint to the answers to the four starred clues in left-to-right order |
| 39% | BAIL | 4 | Money that's paid in order to be released from jail |
| 39% | ELNINO | 6 | Event which is believed affected the Moche in Peru, who made sacrifices in order to try to prevent the rains |
| 39% | SITH | 4 | Order opposed to the Jedi in "Star Wars" films |
| 39% | KNELT | 5 | Got lower in order to propose, perhaps |
| 39% | BORNYESTERDAY | 13 | In the negative, unlikely to be fooled |
| 39% | UPFOR | 5 | In the running to be |
| 39% | KNEE | 4 | Body part touched to the ground in a modern form of protest |
| 39% | UPSET | 5 | What many consider the Mets beating the Orioles in '69 to be |
| 38% | DOLDRUMS | 8 | In low spirit, to be in the __ |
| 38% | SITTER | 6 | Necessity for some, in order to go to the movies |
| 38% | USHERS | 6 | They will escort you to the seat in a theater |
| 38% | SOTO | 4 | Slugger Juan who was traded to the Yankees in 2023 |
| 38% | AGENTSMITH | 10 | Neo's nemesis in "The Matrix" trilogy, who was originally created to maintain order in the Matrix: 2 wds. |