| 100% | MESON | 5 | Particle composed of a quark and an antiquark |
| 69% | KAONS | 5 | Particles consisting of a strange quark and an up or down antiquark |
| 61% | MESON | 5 | A quark and an antiquark |
| 53% | PROTONS | 7 | Particles composed of two up quarks and one down quark |
| 44% | MESON | 5 | Nucleon binder containing a quark and antiquark |
| 42% | PLUOT | 5 | Portmanteau of a plum and an apricot |
| 41% | DIATOM | 6 | Aquatic microorganism that's not actually composed of a pair of particles? |
| 41% | KAON | 4 | Particle that includes a strange quark or antiquark |
| 40% | FULLHOUSE | 9 | Hand composed of a pair and a three-of-a-kind |
| 40% | PULLEY | 6 | Simple machine composed of a wheel and a rope |
| 40% | COLLOID | 7 | Mixture of a liquid and tiny particles |
| 39% | LACOSTE | 7 | Tennis star René and an eponym of a clothing brand |
| 39% | RANI | 4 | Member of a royal family, and an anagram of 119 Across |
| 39% | JAMIEFOXX | 9 | Winner of a best-actor Oscar and an R. & B. Grammy |
| 39% | LIMERICK | 8 | An Irish city and also a form of poetry |
| 38% | NINTHS | 6 | Intervals of an octave and a second |
| 38% | EMU | 3 | Cousin of an ostrich and a rhea |
| 38% | INSECT | 6 | An invertebrate with six legs and a pair of wings |
| 38% | PLUMCOT | 7 | Hybrid fruit of an apricot and a plum |
| 38% | PION | 4 | Particle with a mass about 270 times that of an electron |
| 37% | IRA | 3 | A kind of investment and also an Irish militant movement: Abbr |
| 37% | BROWNING | 8 | Surname of an English poet and a firearm designer |
| 37% | SABRE | 5 | In-state colleague of a Ranger and an Islander |
| 36% | ICONS | 5 | Images of an envelope and a telephone receiver, on an iPhone |
| 36% | ESTER | 5 | Product of a reaction between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid |
| 36% | YEA | 3 | Vote that's both an anagram and a synonym of "aye" |
| 36% | RAO | 3 | Eponym of an Italian-restaurant franchise and a pasta-sauce brand |
| 36% | TYSON | 5 | Cicely with an honorary Oscar and a Presidential Medal of Freedom |
| 36% | RUNDOWN | 7 | Seedy, and an apt description of a word hidden in 3-, 9-, 29- and 33-Down |
| 36% | YEA | 3 | It's both a synonym and an anagram of "aye" |