| 100% | OED | 3 | Ref. work whose 2018 Word of the Year is "toxic" |
| 51% | OED | 3 | It's 2021 word of the year was "vax" |
| 50% | OED | 3 | Its 2019 Word of the Year was "climate emergency" (Abbr.) |
| 50% | OED | 3 | Its 2022 Word of the Year was "goblin mode" (Abbr.) |
| 46% | TIME | 4 | Magazine whose 2019 Person of the Year is Greta Thunberg |
| 46% | MOM | 3 | Soccer ___, ADS Word of the Year in 1996 which is a type of suburban parent |
| 45% | RYU | 3 | Main character in Capcom's Street Fighter series whose "special move" was the subject of a scientific work last year |
| 44% | CRUSOE | 6 | Fictional hero whose first words are "I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York ..." |
| 42% | GAR | 3 | Giant (but delicious) fish of the lower Mississippi whose eggs are highly toxic |
| 42% | ANTONYM | 7 | A word whose meaning is the opposite of another |
| 42% | ONE | 3 | Last word of the year |
| 42% | FELLINI | 7 | Film director from whose work the word "paparazzi" is derived |
| 42% | PANTONE | 7 | Company whose Color of the Year 2024 is Peach Fuzz |
| 41% | ONE | 3 | Last word of the year, often |
| 41% | VAX | 3 | Oxford Word of the Year for 2021 |
| 41% | ROT | 3 | Brain __: 2024 Oxford Word of the Year |
| 40% | PHRASE | 6 | Occasional Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year, oddly |
| 40% | AUTHENTIC | 9 | Merriam-Webster's 2023 word of the year |
| 40% | ONE | 3 | "Three...two...___..." (last words of the year, often) |
| 40% | VAPE | 4 | Oxford English Dictionary's 2014 word of the year |
| 40% | JULES | 5 | With 141-Down, author whose work is the basis of this puzzle's theme |
| 39% | EMOJI | 5 | The Oxford Dictionaries 2015 "Word" of the Year is one |
| 39% | THEY | 4 | American Dialect Society's word of the year for 2015 |
| 39% | GOBLIN | 6 | With 13-Across, Oxford's 2022 Word of the Year |
| 39% | CHARM | 5 | What "rizz," Oxford's 2023 Word of the Year, means |
| 38% | KAL | 3 | Actor Penn whose character was written out of "House" so he could work at the White House |
| 38% | ROYHALLADAY | 11 | Hall of Fame pitcher whose #32 jersey was retired by the Blue Jays in 2018: 2 wds. |
| 38% | RIZZ | 4 | Oxford's 2023 Word of the Year, defined as "style, charm, or attractiveness" |
| 38% | SYNE | 4 | Last word of the first song of the year |
| 38% | ALGOL | 5 | Triple star system whose variability was apparently noted in the ancient Cairo Calendar of about 3200 years ago |