| 100% | BIGEASY | 7 | The __. New Orleans' nickname |
| 89% | BIGEASY | 7 | New Orleans nickname, with "the" |
| 87% | BIGEASY | 7 | New Orleans nickname, with "the" (2 wds.) |
| 81% | BIGEASY | 7 | New Orleans nickname |
| 77% | BIGEASY | 7 | New Orleans' laidback nickname |
| 77% | NOLA | 4 | New Orleans' acronym nickname |
| 75% | EASY | 4 | The Big ___ (New Orleans nickname) |
| 75% | TEO | 3 | Manti ___ of the New Orleans Saints |
| 73% | ELI | 3 | Cornerback Apple of the New Orleans Saints |
| 72% | LOUISPRIMA | 10 | Bandleader whose band was the New Orleans Gang |
| 72% | UTAH | 4 | Where the New Orleans Jazz moved, in 1979 |
| 71% | BIGEASY | 7 | Nickname for New Orleans, celebrated by the answers to the starred clues and suggested by the shaded squares |
| 71% | MOONWALK | 8 | New Orleans wooden promenade along the Mississippi |
| 69% | SAINT | 5 | New Orleans ___ (NFLer who plays in the Superdome) |
| 68% | PELICANS | 8 | New Orleans NBA team that's "for the birds" |
| 68% | JAZZFUNERAL | 11 | Traditional New Orleans celebration of the departed |
| 67% | MARDIGRAS | 9 | New Orleans celebration on the day before Lent: 2 wds. |
| 67% | TULANE | 6 | New Orleans university whose team name is the Green Wave |
| 66% | BIGEASY | 7 | Nickname for New Orleans |
| 66% | NOLA | 4 | Nickname for New Orleans |
| 66% | TRADJAZZ | 8 | Revival of 20s New Orleans music in the 50s |
| 65% | EASY | 4 | The Big ___ (nickname for New Orleans) |
| 65% | DREWBREES | 9 | New Orleans Saint who was the Super Bowl XLIV M.V.P. |
| 64% | EASY | 4 | The Big ___, nickname for New Orleans, Louisiana that is inspired by its laid-back lifestyle |
| 64% | BIGEASY | 7 | New Orleans, with "the" |
| 63% | LEVEES | 6 | New Orleans infrastructure rebuilt by the Army Corps of Engineers after Hurricane Katrina |
| 63% | BIGAPPLE | 8 | The ___ (fruity nickname for New York City): 2 wds. |
| 63% | ELM | 3 | The ___ City (tree-based nickname for New Haven, Connecticut) |
| 63% | MAMARONECK | 10 | New York town that's nicknamed the "Friendly Village" |
| 62% | ZIONWILLIAMSON | 14 | Duke forward who was drafted #1 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019: 2 wds. |