| 100% | FENCED | 6 | Surrounded by barbed wire, with "in" |
| 49% | AMID | 4 | Surrounded by, in the thick of |
| 46% | HEADPINS | 8 | Wires with a stopper at the end, used in beading |
| 44% | MIDWINTER | 9 | In the Bleak __, carol with words by Rossetti |
| 43% | BARBEDSPREAD | 12 | Ranch fenced in with spiky wire? |
| 43% | ARENA | 5 | A level area surrounded by seating in which sports are held |
| 42% | OUI | 3 | Word rhymed with "ami" by Lafayette in "Hamilton" |
| 42% | COPPER | 6 | Element with symbol Cu, used in electrical wiring |
| 41% | BACKTOBACK | 10 | With 37-Across, feat accomplished by 15-Across in 2012: Hyph. |
| 41% | DEFYING | 7 | With 48-Across, song sung by Elphaba in the musical "Wicked" |
| 41% | JOYCE | 5 | With 39-Across, character played by 18-Across in "Stranger Things" |
| 41% | SUEZ | 4 | Port in northeast Egypt linked by rail with Cairo |
| 41% | SKY | 3 | "Lucy in the ___ With Diamonds," song by the Beatles |
| 41% | DWELL | 5 | Word rhymed with "hotel" by Elvis in "Heartbreak Hotel" |
| 41% | LAP | 3 | Seat occupied by kids in most pictures with Santa |
| 41% | SUEZ | 4 | Port in NE Egypt linked by rail with Cairo |
| 41% | ESC | 3 | Competition won by Loreen in 2023 with "Tattoo": abbr. |
| 40% | HEMS | 4 | Surrounds, with "in" |
| 40% | HEM | 3 | Surround, with "in" |
| 40% | GOODSHIP | 8 | With 44-Across, boat in a song by 29-Across: 2 wds. |
| 40% | GETTINGONESDUCKS | 16 | With 69-Across, organizational process implied by eight answers in this puzzle |
| 40% | SUGAR | 5 | With 1-Across, ingredients followed in a saying by "and everything nice" |
| 40% | NOOSES | 6 | Loops in ropes tied with a knot used by hangmen |
| 40% | SALAD | 5 | Perverted ___, dish ordered by Monica with "dirty lettuce" in "Friends" |
| 40% | ZAP | 3 | ___ Comix (series begun in 1968 with art by 41-Across) |
| 40% | MTV | 3 | Channel launched in 1981 with a video by the Buggles |
| 40% | MADLIB | 6 | Story with blanks to be filled in by the reader |
| 40% | ISLAND | 6 | Merlin's ___, land surrounded by water where the characters get stranded in "Shrek the Third" |
| 39% | THE | 3 | With 18-Across, TV program to be hosted by James Corden in 2015 |
| 39% | FRIDA | 5 | With 40-Across, Mexican painter played by Salma Hayek in a 2002 biopic |