| 100% | ALPHABETIZATION | 15 | One way of ordering things, like all the consonants in rows three, six and nine |
| 36% | ANDERSON | 8 | ___ Silva, UFC fighter considered one of the greatest of all time who has appeared in films like "Tapped Out" and "Never Surrender" |
| 35% | RURAL | 5 | Like the homes of roughly one in six Americans |
| 34% | DIAGONALPARKING | 15 | Easy way of pulling in ... and a hint to the six circled words |
| 34% | MEAN | 4 | Like Dolores Umbridge in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" |
| 33% | EDGEWISE | 8 | One way to get a word in ... and an aural hint to a feature of the starred clues' answers |
| 33% | MUSIAL | 6 | One of three men to play in 24 All-Star Games, with Aaron and Mays |
| 33% | SLOTH | 5 | One of three living mammals in the superorder Xenarthra, along with the armadillo and anteater |
| 33% | RITE | 4 | Learning to read and w___ is one of the first things taught in school |
| 32% | ERODED | 6 | Eaten away, like the first words of 17-, 31-, 48- and 65-Across in order? |
| 32% | METALLICA | 9 | One of the greatest metal bands of all time with hits like "Enter Sandman" and "Nothing Else Matters" |
| 32% | HOPPER | 6 | Scientist and naval officer Grace ___ who was one of the first three pioneers in computer programming |
| 31% | TAKEALETTER | 11 | Dictator's order, and how to make sense of the answers to the starred clues, in two ways |
| 31% | AVID | 4 | Like those fans who camp out all night in ticket lines just to ensure they get one of the best seats |
| 31% | OUT | 3 | "Only one way to find ___!" cliche dialogue said in many movies like "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and "The Karate Kid Part III" |
| 31% | SPELLBOUND | 10 | Entranced … or what one can do by reading the starts of 17-, 24-, 34-, 44- and 50-Across in order? |
| 30% | AWFUL | 5 | Like the shows "Here's Where I Belong" in '68 and "La Strada" in '69, both of which lasted one night on Broadway |
| 30% | ANIMAL | 6 | ___ style, "secret" way of ordering burgers and fries at In-N-Out |
| 30% | SECRETARIAT | 11 | American racehorse who in 1973 set the fastest and still-unbeaten time record in all three races of the Triple Crown |
| 30% | DENIS | 5 | ___ Potvin, who is one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history and is a three-time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner |
| 30% | ITSGROWINGONME | 14 | "I'm starting to like this" ... or a hint to the starts of 16-, 24-, 47- and 58-Across, in order |
| 30% | SYMPHONIC | 9 | Like all of the 62-Across works in this puzzle |
| 30% | TAC | 3 | One of three in a row |
| 30% | MEAL | 4 | One of the "hots" in the military slang "three hots and a cot" |
| 30% | OUTS | 4 | "He knew all the ins and ___ of the place" |
| 30% | SCENE | 5 | One of nine in the play "Fences" |
| 30% | AMEBA | 5 | One of the little things in life? |
| 30% | DOT | 3 | One of three in the word Fiji |
| 30% | ZERO | 4 | One of three in the Y2K year |
| 30% | SHIELD | 6 | One of three in the Buick logo |