| 100% | KIROV | 5 | Sergei —, Soviet politician whose 1934 assassination was the start of Stalin’s purge of the Communist Party |
| 91% | KIROV | 5 | Sergei —, Soviet politician whose 1934 assassination was the start of the purge of the Communist Party by Stalin |
| 31% | STALIN | 6 | Joseph —, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922-52 |
| 30% | KNESSET | 7 | Legislature whose current speaker is a member of the Likud party |
| 29% | ERA | 3 | Dana's reaction was the start of an ___ for Ava. |
| 29% | CHERNENKO | 9 | Konstantin —, General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party from 1984-85 |
| 29% | MERIMEE | 7 | Writer whose novella "Carmen" is the basis of Bizet's opera |
| 29% | DONUT | 5 | Treat whose varieties appear at the starts of four long answers and are represented a dozen times in this puzzle |
| 28% | ELIHU | 5 | Politician ___ Washburne of the 19th century, who was prominent in founding the Republican Party |
| 28% | ALPHABET | 8 | Series whose first seven members are sung to the starts of 18-, 26-, 41- and 54-Across |
| 28% | BOB | 3 | With 66-Across, choreographer whose life is depicted in the starts of 19-, 36- and 50-Across |
| 28% | DASCHAPOLANCA | 13 | "Orange Is the New Black" actress who plays Charlie's friend Natalie, whose murder starts the story of "Poker Face" (2 wds.) |
| 28% | DIAMONDJIMBRADY | 15 | Early railroad tycoon whose nickname is a hint to the starts of 17-, 23-, 51- and 62-Across |
| 28% | WHATSMYNAME | 11 | Fairy tale question whose answer is spelled out in the starts of 18-, 24-, 40- and 51-Across |
| 28% | TRADINGSPACES | 13 | Reality series whose title describes what the starting sounds of eight TV titles in this puzzle are doing |
| 27% | ERA | 3 | "It's the start of a new ___" ("History is changing") |
| 27% | SALVADORDALI | 12 | Spanish surrealist artist whose antiwar painting "The Face of War" was created at the start of WWII: 2 wds. |
| 27% | OURTOWN | 7 | Pulitzer-winning Thornton Wilder play whose title locale is the village of Grover's Corners (2 wds.) |
| 27% | JAMESMICHENER | 13 | Author of the novels whose titles are the starts of nine answers in this puzzle |
| 27% | AMA | 3 | Physician's group whose symbol is the staff of Asclepius: Abbr. |
| 27% | COULD | 5 | "This ___ be the start of something big..." |
| 27% | COULD | 5 | "This ___ be the start of something big" |
| 27% | SHY | 3 | Like someone who's unlikely to be the life of the party |
| 27% | SEED | 4 | It might be the start of something big |
| 27% | STAG | 4 | Animal whose skull is the subject of Georgia O'Keeffe's "Summer Days" |
| 26% | MAO | 3 | ___ Zedong, former chairman of the Communist Party of China |
| 26% | MAO | 3 | Former Chairman of the Communist Party of China, ___ Zedong |
| 26% | NAT | 3 | Turner whose slave revolt was the subject of an 1861 article in The Atlantic |
| 26% | JULES | 5 | With 141-Down, author whose work is the basis of this puzzle's theme |
| 26% | SENATOR | 7 | CCR's Fogerty was not the son of this politician |