| 100% | MAINDIAGONAL | 12 | Term in linear algebra for the series of entries in a square matrix extending from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner |
| 44% | MAINDIAGONAL | 12 | Line of numbers from the top left to bottom right, in an algebraic matrix |
| 33% | ESC | 3 | Key in the top left corner of a keyboard |
| 31% | IDIOM | 5 | Figure of speech ... and a synonym of the puzzle's alternate title, spelled left to right in the circled squares |
| 31% | DATE | 4 | Field in the top right corner of a check |
| 31% | NAMETHEONE | 10 | Start of a brainteaser whose answer appears in order, from top to bottom, in this puzzle's circled squares |
| 29% | YES | 3 | Response in the top-left corner of a Ouija board |
| 28% | KNOCKON | 7 | Term in rugby for the accidental propelling of a ball from the hands or arms in the direction of the opponents' dead-ball line |
| 28% | LEG | 3 | In cricket, the side of the field to the left of a right-handed batsman as he faces the bowler |
| 27% | TANNOY | 6 | Colloquial term for a public address system taken from the name of a firm set up by Guy Fountain in 1926 |
| 27% | ESC | 3 | Key in the upper left corner of a keyboard |
| 27% | ONE | 3 | Figure in the top left of a crossword grid |
| 27% | WHITEHOPE | 9 | Term for heavyweight boxers thought to have a chance of ending Jack Johnson's dominance of the division in the 1910s |
| 27% | KINETIC | 7 | Common term for the energy of a body in motion |
| 27% | HOLE | 4 | Step 3 of making a birdhouse: Cut out a ___ in one of the walls to make place for entry |
| 27% | STARBOARD | 9 | Term for the right side of a ship |
| 27% | CRANSTON | 8 | Bryan ___, actor from "Breaking Bad" who is a four-time winner of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series |
| 27% | OMEGA | 5 | Greek letter used to denote the last entry in a series |
| 27% | STAMP | 5 | It's put in the top right corner of an envelope |
| 27% | FOR | 3 | Word often seen in the lower left corner of a check |
| 27% | PAR | 3 | Golf term for the number of strokes to get a hole |
| 26% | OWL | 3 | Bird supposedly hidden in the upper right corner of a $1 bill |
| 26% | HOOKING | 7 | A right-handers shot curving to the left in golf |
| 26% | TAB | 3 | The key to the left of Q in a keyboard |
| 26% | NEEDLEDROP | 10 | Turntable-inspired term for the use of a familiar song in a film |
| 26% | BODY | 4 | ___ mullet, term popularized during the pandemic to mean a combination of a nice top and ugly bottoms worn during work video calls |
| 26% | ARRESTED | 8 | "___ Development," TV series in which the Bluths misinterpret a doctor's use of "all right," leading to a comical confusion over homonyms |
| 26% | BUGSOUT | 7 | Leaves in a hurry, or a hint to the cluing of the starred answers |
| 26% | OPEC | 4 | Organisation formed in 1961 to administer a common policy for the sale of petroleum |
| 26% | OPEC | 4 | Organization formed in 1961 to administer a common policy for the sale of petroleum |