| 100% | LWORD | 5 | Showtime's "The ___: Generation Q" which premiered in December last year |
| 39% | MCMXIII | 7 | Year in which the first crossword appeared, on December 21 |
| 38% | SEPT | 4 | Last month in the U.S. government's fiscal year: Abbr. |
| 37% | ALI | 3 | Actor Mahershala who's won two Oscars in the last three years |
| 36% | IONE | 4 | Girl's name in which the last three letters are equivalent to the first? |
| 35% | JANUARY | 7 | The month in which a new year starts |
| 35% | WINTERWHEAT | 11 | Crop planted late in the year |
| 35% | MORPH | 5 | American Dialect Society's Word of the Year in 1994 which means "to change form" |
| 35% | SYNE | 4 | Last word in the first song of the year |
| 35% | SYNE | 4 | The last word in some New Year's poetry |
| 35% | KETT | 4 | Last name in the funnies for nearly 50 years |
| 35% | INKLE | 5 | Company that created "80 Days" which was Time Magazine's Game of the Year in 2014 |
| 34% | OSCARBAIT | 9 | Arty films released late in the year, typically |
| 34% | OSCARBAIT | 9 | Prestigious film released late in the year, maybe |
| 34% | CML | 3 | Approximate year in which Eric the Red was born |
| 34% | LWORD | 5 | "The ___: Generation Q," sequel series starting in 2019 |
| 33% | FIVE | 4 | Last digit in the New Year we're about to welcome: 2025 |
| 33% | BEE | 3 | Competition in which the winner always gets the last word? |
| 33% | SRS | 3 | Last year's juniors, in high school: Abbr. |
| 33% | RUR | 3 | Karel Capek play premiered in 1921 which introduced the word robot to the English language |
| 33% | RADIO | 5 | The “R” in F.R.C., which later became the F.C.C. |
| 33% | EVEN | 4 | Like years in which the Olympics and World Cup are held |
| 33% | NEE | 3 | Maryland slalom canoeist Ashley ___, who last year came 1st in the Extreme K1 world cup event |
| 32% | PAM | 3 | Product that becomes an item to which it's applied after shifting the last letter one spot down in the alphabet |
| 32% | GOLF | 4 | Sport which was reintroduced in the 2016 Summer Olympics after 112 years |
| 32% | WORLDSERIESMVP | 14 | Award named after 54-Across, which debuted a year after 54-Across's famous "basket catch" in the 1954 Fall Classic |
| 32% | SAGA | 4 | Kyushu city where last year more than 100 hot air balloons participated in the International Balloon Fiesta |
| 32% | DEC | 3 | Last of the year's mos. |
| 32% | ALCS | 4 | An Astro has won its MVP in four of the last six years |
| 32% | BRIDGET | 7 | "___ Jones's Diary," 1996 novel by Helen Fielding in which the titular character meets her lover at a New Year's party |