| 100% | RYES | 4 | Some breads ... or a homophone for what bread loaves do |
| 89% | RYES | 4 | Some loaves of bread … or a homophone for what they do in the oven |
| 54% | MERGELEFT | 9 | What you might have to do for some highway construction … or a first hint to solving this puzzle's theme |
| 48% | BOW | 3 | Item for a violinist, or what one might do after performing |
| 46% | TAKESTHEEDGEOFF | 15 | Alleviates pain a little … or what this puzzle does to certain squares for literal effect |
| 45% | COB | 3 | Some bread for a swan |
| 45% | SEETHEBIGPICTURE | 16 | Get some perspective … or what you do once you’ve solved a jigsaw puzzle? |
| 43% | SOP | 3 | A use for bread |
| 43% | ROLL | 4 | "Rock and ___," song by Led Zeppelin or what you might do to shape snow into the perfect base for a snowman |
| 42% | PASSGO | 6 | Round a corner in 65-Across ... or what you must do to answer the clues for 20-, 34-, 43- and 56-Across |
| 42% | PLAY | 4 | Do it to a fiddle, blocks, or a console for fun |
| 42% | ANYTHING | 8 | What Meat Loaf would do for love |
| 42% | ACT | 3 | What Josh Holloway does for a living |
| 42% | ACT | 3 | What Javier Bardem does for a living |
| 42% | ACT | 3 | What Kirk Douglas did for a living |
| 42% | RAPS | 4 | What Cardi B does for a living |
| 42% | RUN | 3 | What Justin Gatlin does for a living |
| 42% | ACT | 3 | What Henry Cavill does for a living |
| 41% | THAT | 4 | What Meat Loaf won't do for love |
| 41% | GETSTIPS | 8 | What a waiter or a track bettor does |
| 41% | GOTOPOTUS | 9 | What congressional bills do, for signing or vetoing? |
| 41% | CARVE | 5 | What you do to a pumpkin for Halloween |
| 41% | WHOLEMEAL | 9 | Entire repast or just some bread |
| 41% | MARBLED | 7 | Like some steak or rye bread |
| 41% | RIDINGCROP | 10 | Jockey's tool, or a description of what's been done to the starred answers |
| 41% | MAZE | 4 | Word after corn . . . or a homophone of a word for corn |
| 41% | MELTDOWN | 8 | What a toddler or a nuclear reactor can do |
| 41% | BREAKSICE | 9 | What a social butterfly or a fat penguin does |
| 41% | NOCARB | 6 | Like a diet lacking bread or pasta, for short |
| 41% | PUMP | 4 | What you might do with gas or a fist |