| 100% | COTTA | 5 | Terra-___ (like the warriors left behind to guard the first emperor of China) |
| 44% | SHIHUANG | 8 | Qin __, the first emperor of unified China |
| 42% | KLAYTHOMPSON | 12 | Warriors guard who's the first player in NBA history to score 60 points in under 30 minutes of play: 2 wds. |
| 41% | WEN | 3 | ___ Wang, emperor of China who established the first zoo |
| 39% | MALIK | 5 | Surname of the first member to leave One Direction |
| 38% | QINSHI | 6 | First emperor of China |
| 38% | NAPOLEON | 8 | The first emperor of France |
| 37% | FOREIGNLANGUAGE | 15 | What's left when you remove the first and last letters of the answers to starred clues |
| 37% | SPELLITOUT | 10 | Leave no room for misinterpretation ... or what the first words of the answers to the five starred clues do, literally |
| 37% | REDANDWHITE | 11 | Like the Canadian flag ... and a hint to the first names of 24- and 48-Across |
| 37% | ELOCUTIONPHRASE | 15 | Exercise in pronunciation ... like the first words of the answers to the starred clues |
| 36% | MARCOPOLO | 9 | Venetian explorer, who is known to be the first to have detailed accounts of travel to, and about China: 2 wds. |
| 36% | OCTAVIAN | 8 | General who became the first emperor of Rome |
| 35% | AUGUSTUS | 8 | First emperor of the Roman empire |
| 35% | ELLA | 4 | The First Lady of Song, to fans |
| 35% | YEARLY | 6 | Like the return of swallows to Capistrano |
| 35% | MARS | 4 | Where to find the first parts of the asterisked answers |
| 35% | HAMMURABI | 9 | Babylonian King, said to be the first set of laws |
| 35% | WAR | 3 | What truth is said to be the first casualty of |
| 35% | PROTO | 5 | Prefix with "type" to mean the first model of something |
| 35% | CONSTANTINE | 11 | Emperor who called the First Council of Nicaea |
| 35% | JOSEPHINE | 9 | The first wife of French emperor Napoleon I |
| 35% | SHY | 3 | Like someone unlikely to make the first move |
| 35% | DENIAL | 6 | The first stage of grief, according to some |
| 34% | MOON | 4 | Harvest ___ viewing, popular tradition to celebrate the first day of fall |
| 34% | RICHARD | 7 | ___ Rodgers, composer with works like "Oklahoma!' and "The Sound of Music" who was the first person to win the EGOT |
| 34% | STARRY | 6 | Like the top left of the U.S. flag |
| 34% | 99TH | 4 | Like the first bottle of beer on the wall |
| 34% | UNLIT | 5 | Like seven candles on the first night of Hanukkah |
| 34% | EVAPERON | 8 | The first lady of Argentina from 1946 to 1952 |