| 100% | FLY | 3 | *Buzzing pest ... or a word that goes with "trap" to refer to a snare for the said pest |
| 95% | IDO | 3 | Words that have a certain ring to them? |
| 91% | TAPE | 4 | Word after "mix" to mean a handmade playlist of music on a cassette or CD that has been "lost" to time |
| 91% | AIL | 3 | *Catch a bug, say ... or a word common to 18d |
| 90% | SILENT | 6 | Quiet ... or a word that adds a twist to 20a, 34a, 60a, 4d, and 39d |
| 90% | ATTEND | 6 | Go to an event... or a word that ends in "end" |
| 88% | ASK | 3 | To pose or say a question |
| 88% | DISCIPLINE | 10 | Train someone to obey ... or a word that means "area of academic focus" |
| 87% | RAT | 3 | *Sewage rodent ... or a word that goes with "trap" to mean a hopeless situation |
| 86% | PROPOSAL | 8 | Question that might have a ring to it? |
| 86% | IDO | 3 | Words that usually have a ring to them |
| 86% | ELEMENTAL | 9 | A word that means simple and basic, or pertaining to forces of nature |
| 86% | PROPOSALS | 9 | Words that might have a nice ring to them? |
| 85% | KEEP | 4 | Hang on to ... or a word that can precede either half of the answer to each starred clue |
| 85% | SPEED | 5 | *Runner's stat ... or a word that goes with "trap" to refer to a radar trap |
| 85% | BAD | 3 | Word to a dog that has just chewed the sofa |
| 84% | EMPTY | 5 | Containing nothing, or a word that sounds like the initials of the answers to the starred clues |
| 84% | WHY | 3 | Question a parent might respond to with "Because I said so" |
| 84% | TAG | 3 | A mattress might have one that says not to remove it |
| 83% | SAND | 4 | *Hourglass filler ... or a word that goes with "trap" to refer to a bunker on a golf course |
| 83% | SLOP | 4 | Waste water from a kitchen, bathroom, or chamber pot that has to be emptied by hand |
| 83% | IDO | 3 | Words that a bride and groom say to each other: 2 wds. |
| 83% | PRONOUNCE | 9 | The correct way to say or sound out a word |
| 82% | BEAR | 4 | *Grizzly or Polar, e.g. ... or a word that goes with "trap" to refer to a metaphorical financial trap |
| 82% | AGE | 3 | Survey question that may have a "Prefer not to answer" choice |
| 81% | TOWN | 4 | Word that can follow Hades or Urine to make the title of a musical |
| 81% | HOME | 4 | There's no place like it ... or a word that can precede either half of the answer to each starred clue |
| 80% | ANS | 3 | Respond to a question, for short |
| 80% | GRIOT | 5 | Word that can refer to a West African oral historian or a Haitian pork dish |
| 80% | HOLM | 4 | German word that refers to an island in a river or a lake |