| 100% | SERGEANT | 8 | Rank in the British police force senior to a constable and junior to an inspector |
| 49% | MAJORGENERAL | 12 | Rank in the British Army immediately senior to a brigadier |
| 34% | GROUPCAPTAIN | 12 | RAF officer holding commissioned rank senior to a wing commander but junior to an air commodore |
| 33% | NATO | 4 | An alliance between American and European forces, that played a big part in the occupation of Afghanistan: Abbr |
| 33% | CAPTAIN | 7 | Officer of the army holding a rank junior to a major but senior to a lieutenant |
| 32% | EDGEWISE | 8 | One way to get a word in ... and an aural hint to a feature of the starred clues' answers |
| 32% | ODE | 3 | A lyric poem in the form of an address to a particular subject |
| 31% | ENDPLAY | 7 | Tactical play in the last few tricks of a game of bridge forcing an opponent to make a particular lead |
| 31% | MEMORY | 6 | Answer to the riddle "I form in an instant and last a lifetime. What am I?" |
| 31% | CID | 3 | Branch of the British Police force first set up in Nottingham in 1854 |
| 31% | COLONEL | 7 | Army rank below a brigadier in the British Army |
| 30% | APRESSKI | 8 | Activities in an Alpine lodge, and a fitting end to the progression in 17-, 23-, 36- and 49-Across |
| 30% | DOUBLEPARK | 10 | Leave one's vehicle in a traffic lane, and an apt description of the answers to the starred clues |
| 30% | VISCOUNT | 8 | A biscuit and a rank in the peerage |
| 30% | RNA | 3 | British org. for the support of "women’s fiction" and honestly, to be a member, the genre likely has to run in your genes? |
| 30% | HARRIS | 6 | Stayce, first African American to reach three star general rank in the US Air Force (2016) |
| 30% | BADMINTON | 9 | Sport played with a shuttlecock where players hit it back and forth in an attempt to make the other side miss |
| 30% | CIVILIAN | 8 | A person not in the armed forces or police force |
| 29% | PTE | 3 | Lowest military rank for a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces, for short |
| 29% | IRON | 4 | "Fe," to a chemist, and the element found in dried 42a |
| 29% | DROPBOX | 7 | Big name in the cloud, and a hint to the starred answers |
| 29% | GEN | 3 | Shortened title to mean a senior officer in the Army |
| 29% | NEWWORLDORDER | 13 | Shake-up in the global balance of power ... and a hint to the circled letters |
| 28% | EDGE | 4 | "The Cutting ___," 1992 sports rom-com about an ice hockey player and a figure skater who are forced to team up for the 1992 Winter Olympics |
| 28% | FRENCH | 6 | John —, field marshal who commanded the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium from 1914-15 |
| 28% | STYMIE | 6 | Former situation on a golf green in which an opponent's ball blocked the line between the hole and the ball about to be played |
| 28% | SOS | 3 | "Sending out an ___" (line in The Police's "Message in a Bottle") |
| 28% | THISANDTHAT | 11 | Miscellany, and a hint to the hidden words in the starred answers |
| 28% | GETUP | 5 | “What’s with the ___?” (question to a friend in an unusual outfit) |
| 28% | MEASURESUP | 10 | Meets expectations, and a hint to words hidden in the starred answers |