| 100% | MOTSETION | 9 | Start, as a chain of events |
| 65% | TRIGGERING | 10 | Initiating a chain of events |
| 63% | ROOTCAUSE | 9 | Trigger of a chain of events |
| 60% | PAGELAYOUT | 10 | Unfold, as a series of events |
| 59% | LOADSIN | 7 | Starts, as a roll of film |
| 56% | PEARL | 5 | It may start as a grain of sand |
| 56% | WEAKEST | 7 | A chain is only as strong as this kind of link |
| 55% | PERIPETEIA | 10 | Unexpected turn of events, as in a literary work |
| 55% | ANTE | 4 | Start of a pot, as in poker |
| 55% | REBOOT | 6 | Fresh start, as of a movie series |
| 55% | THRILLA | 7 | Start of a big 1975 sports event? |
| 54% | OMEN | 4 | Event seen as a prediction of the future |
| 54% | LARONDE | 7 | 1950 Ophüls film structured as a daisy chain of sexual encounters |
| 54% | LATETO | 6 | Missing, as the start of a party |
| 53% | FWD | 3 | Start of many a chain email |
| 52% | LOG | 3 | Official record of events, as may be recorded by the Captain of a ship |
| 51% | DRAWS | 5 | Takes tiles, as at the start of a Scrabble game |
| 51% | BOWTO | 5 | Greet formally, as at the start of a sumo match |
| 51% | SOUVENIR | 8 | Things kept as a reminder of a place or event |
| 50% | SANS | 4 | Without ... or, as a plural, what the starts of the answers to starred clues are without? |
| 50% | GOODNEWSBADNEWS | 15 | Start of a mixed message, as illustrated by 17-, 23-, 39- and 54-Across |
| 49% | UNHOOK | 6 | Release, as the end of a chain |
| 49% | SCENARIO | 8 | Hypothetical chain of events |
| 49% | UNHOOK | 6 | Release, as a chain |
| 49% | UNLINKS | 7 | Disconnects, as a chain |
| 49% | UNBROKEN | 8 | Intact, as a chain |
| 49% | WARMUP | 6 | Pre-game exercises that often mark the start of a sports event: Hyph. |
| 49% | MEMENTO | 7 | An object kept as a reminder of a person or event |
| 48% | LINKED | 6 | Connected, as parts of a chain |
| 48% | TOERRISHUMAN | 12 | Start of a Pope line about fallibility ... as shown by 19-, 25-, 42- and 55-Across? |