| 100% | DEARSANTA | 9 | Start of a letter to the North Pole: 2 wds. |
| 80% | DEARSANTA | 9 | Start of a letter to the North Pole |
| 58% | YOUVEGOT | 8 | Start of a reassuring phrase ... or the start to 20a, 41a, 55a, or 38d: 2 wds. |
| 54% | DEARSIR | 7 | Opening line of a letter to a gentleman: 2 wds. |
| 54% | DEARSANTA | 9 | Start of a Christmas letter: 2 wds. |
| 53% | DEARSANTA | 9 | Start of a child's Christmas letter: 2 wds. |
| 53% | IWISH | 5 | Start of a request to a genie: 2 wds. |
| 52% | HEYSIRI | 7 | Start of a voice command made to an iPhone: 2 wds. |
| 52% | FATLIP | 6 | Result of a punch to the mouth: 2 wds. |
| 51% | AHOUSEDIVIDED | 13 | Start of a Lincoln line, and a hint to the circled letters |
| 51% | NOWI | 4 | The start of a prayer, "___ lay me down...": 2 wds. |
| 50% | DEARANN | 7 | Start of a letter to Landers |
| 50% | DEARSIRS | 8 | The start of a formal letter to a group of men |
| 49% | DEARBUDS | 8 | Start of a letter to one's besties? |
| 48% | SKILIFTS | 8 | Conveyances that get people to the top of a snowy mountain: 2 wds. |
| 48% | SNAP | 4 | Start of a play to the quarterback |
| 48% | VENI | 4 | Start of a boast to the Senate |
| 47% | POUNDSIGN | 9 | Symbol used at the start of a hashtag: 2 wds. |
| 46% | DEER | 4 | Start of a letter in the form of a rebus |
| 46% | ISAID | 5 | Start of a reiteration: 2 wds. |
| 46% | TWENTYFIVEYEARS | 15 | Start of a tribute to the Metropolitan Opera's James Levine |
| 46% | INTOW | 5 | Hitched to the back of a truck (2 wds.) |
| 45% | ATALE | 5 | Start of a Dickens title, "___ of Two Cities": 2 wds. |
| 45% | IWANT | 5 | Start of a brat's demand: 2 wds. |
| 45% | WHATIF | 6 | Start of a hypothetical question. "Suppose...": 2 wds |
| 45% | BECAUSEPOEWROTE | 15 | Start of a possible answer to the riddle |
| 44% | ISEE | 4 | Start of a crystal ball gazer's prediction: 2 wds. |
| 44% | ISEE | 4 | Start of a crystal-ball reader's line: 2 wds. |
| 44% | HEYYOU | 6 | Words to get the attention of a stranger: 2 wds. |
| 44% | EASYON | 6 | Start of a billboard catchphrase meaning "close to the highway" |