| 100% | CONTEXT | 7 | Setting or situation, especially in literature |
| 49% | TROUBLEDWATERS | 14 | Difficult situation, or what can be found in each set of circled letters? |
| 46% | MELD | 4 | Set or run, in rummy |
| 44% | ARCHETYPE | 9 | Recurrent theme in literature or mythology |
| 44% | PULITZER | 8 | American prize in literature, music or drama |
| 43% | MELD | 4 | Set, in Rummikub or canasta |
| 42% | THEME | 5 | Motif in music or literature |
| 42% | PIG | 3 | Wilbur or Babe, in literature |
| 40% | CHAPLAIN | 8 | Priest in a prison or military setting |
| 40% | MODE | 4 | Fashion or style in clothes, art, literature, |
| 40% | MOTIF | 5 | Recurring element in art, music, or literature |
| 40% | CRINGE | 6 | Squirm in an awkward or embarrassing situation |
| 39% | MELD | 4 | Set of matching cards, as in Canasta or Gin Rummy |
| 39% | MDT | 3 | Summer clock setting in Moab or Missoula: Abbr. |
| 39% | REP | 3 | One in a set of curls or crunches |
| 39% | MANOR | 5 | Thornfield Hall or Misselthwaite, in literature |
| 39% | TOY | 3 | *Plaything like a Lego set or Barbie that Santa may leave in 35a |
| 39% | TOY | 3 | * Plaything like a Lego set or Barbie that Santa may leave in 35a |
| 39% | PST | 3 | Winter clock setting in Seattle or San Diego: Abbr. |
| 38% | ONSERVE | 7 | Even or close to even, in a tennis set |
| 38% | ICEROADTRUCKERS | 15 | *History channel show frequently set in Canada or Alaska |
| 38% | PERMED | 6 | Chemically treated hair set in a wave or straight |
| 38% | CREW | 4 | Workers in a NASCAR pit or a Broadway set |
| 38% | ERECT | 5 | Raised and set in an upright or vertical position |
| 38% | SHEDDER | 7 | Cat or dog, especially in the spring |
| 38% | OSUMGAME | 8 | Situation in which, on the whole, nothing can be gained or lost |
| 38% | WARDROBE | 8 | Personal set of clothes or furniture it's kept in |
| 38% | OUTLAW | 6 | Fugitive or criminal, especially in the Wild West |
| 37% | BABYTOY | 7 | A set of blocks . . . or the box they came in, perhaps |
| 37% | MULAN | 5 | 1998 Disney film, or its 2020 remake, set in ancient China |