| 100% | WOOD | 4 | Step 1 of making a birdhouse: Cut ___ panels and fix the walls |
| 59% | HOLE | 4 | Step 3 of making a birdhouse: Cut out a ___ in one of the walls to make place for entry |
| 39% | ROOF | 4 | Step 4 of making a birdhouse: Add a ___ (canopy) to provide shelter |
| 39% | DRAIN | 5 | Step 2 of making a birdhouse: Make a ___ to allow water to escape |
| 34% | GETCRACKING | 11 | Make a start, and what you might do to the ends of the starred answers |
| 34% | FLAMES | 6 | They make the flares and flickers of a fire |
| 33% | PIGOUT | 6 | Ingurgitate, and a hint to making sense of the starred clues |
| 33% | TEARS | 5 | “The ___ of a Clown” (No. 1 hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles) |
| 33% | RAINOUT | 7 | Ballpark bummer, and a hint to making sense of the starred answers |
| 33% | YOUREGHANABUYAFATBIRD | 21 | Step 1 of a Thanksgiving dinner |
| 32% | DANK | 4 | Making a comeback is this "wet and unpleasant" slangy term for something of high quality that originated in the '80s |
| 32% | ASSOON | 6 | The "A" and "S" of 1-Across |
| 32% | CONNECTSTHEDOTS | 15 | Makes sense of a situation ... and, literally, what the quartet of answers to starred clues does |
| 32% | GOODPOINT | 9 | "Your argument makes sense," and a feature of the ends of four Across answers |
| 32% | MARS | 4 | "___ and the Mind of Man," book that features a panel discussion with Carl Sagan and others |
| 32% | MOULINROUGE | 11 | 2001 film featuring Nicole Kidman and a necklace made of 1,308 diamonds (2 wds.) |
| 32% | MOULINROUGE | 11 | Film that features Nicole Kidman and a necklace made of 1,308 diamonds (2 wds.) |
| 32% | COFFEE | 6 | Hot beverage made from the roasted and ground seeds of a tropical Old World shrub |
| 32% | WAINSCOT | 8 | Lining of wood panelling applied to the walls of a room |
| 31% | BACKROOM | 8 | Where shady deals may be made, and a hint to the ends of the starred answers |
| 31% | KATE | 4 | Singer and actress whose 2007 debut solo album, Made of Bricks, was a UK no 1 |
| 31% | LEE | 3 | The first step of treating a cut is stopping the b___ding |
| 31% | PRODUCERS | 9 | People who finance and manage the making of a film |
| 31% | BUTTONNOSE | 10 | "With a corncob pipe and a ___, and two eyes made out of coal" ("Frosty the Snowman" lyric) |
| 31% | COLDPLUNGE | 10 | Post-workout water therapy option, or a description of the ends of 1-, 4-, and 7-Down |
| 31% | SNIPE | 5 | Make a series of cutting remarks |
| 31% | RESOLES | 7 | Fixes the bottom of a shoe |
| 31% | BEATIT | 6 | End of the sentence "Make like a drum and ..." |
| 30% | ITOO | 4 | Classic Langston Hughes poem quoted on a wall of the National Museum of African American History and Culture |