| 100% | SMORE | 5 | The first recipe for one was published in "Tramping and Trailing With the Girl Scouts" (1927) |
| 37% | ATOMICPILE | 10 | The first one of these was built by Fermi and his team in 1942 |
| 36% | LUGE | 4 | Winter Olympic sport which is also a small one or two person sled that rhymes with "huge" and was first played in the 1870s |
| 36% | SSN | 3 | The first one was issued in 1936, for short |
| 36% | DIET | 4 | "Ola! I'm ___ Rite, a dupe of cola! I was introduced in the late 1950s and was one of the first colas with zero calories!" |
| 35% | PSALM | 5 | The first one begins "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked" |
| 35% | PAGE | 4 | One of 1,225 in the first published edition of "War and Peace" |
| 35% | ANTIHERO | 8 | Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," for one |
| 34% | RITE | 4 | Learning to read and w___ is one of the first things taught in school |
| 34% | LIDOSHUFFLE | 11 | Boz Scaggs hit with the lyric "One more for the road," and what can be found in 17-, 23-, 37-, and 48-Across? |
| 34% | ELLA | 4 | ___ Fitzgerald, singer dubbed the "First Lady of Song" with 14 Grammy Awards and is considered one of the most influential figures in jazz |
| 33% | VCR | 3 | The first commercial one of these was introduced by Ampex in 1956 and cost roughly $50,000 |
| 33% | ALBERTPUJOLS | 12 | First baseman with over 1,000 hits for one team in each league (Cardinals and Angels): 2 wds. |
| 33% | TRACY | 5 | "Dick ___," one of the longest-running American comic strips which was first published in October 1931 |
| 33% | HOPPER | 6 | Scientist and naval officer Grace ___ who was one of the first three pioneers in computer programming |
| 33% | RABBI | 5 | The first ordained female one was Regina Jonas in 1935 |
| 33% | BARNEY | 6 | "___ Google and Snuffy Smith," the third-longest running American comics series which was first published in 1919 |
| 33% | INDIEGOGO | 9 | Online platform that was one of the first websites to offer crowdfunding for business and personal goals |
| 33% | BACKPACK | 8 | Travel the world with one bag, and what can be found in this puzzle's circled letters? |
| 32% | VELA | 4 | Carlos ___, Mexican footballer who plays for Los Angeles FC in MLS and was one of the highest paid MLS players in 2019 |
| 32% | BILL | 4 | ___ Buckner, one time National League batting champion who played as the first baseman for five MLB teams and passed away in 2019 |
| 32% | HOWIWISH | 8 | With 94- and 72-Across, a mnemonic for the first eight digits of [symbol in the middle of the grid] |
| 32% | WOLESOYINKA | 11 | Nigerian playwright and novelist who was the first African honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature (2 wds.) |
| 32% | JOEL | 4 | Billy ___, "Uptown Girl" singer who was the first musical act on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 1993 |
| 32% | WII | 3 | "___ Sports," one of the best-selling video games released in 2006 that was published for Nintendo's gaming console |
| 32% | MURRAY | 6 | Bill ___, "Kingpin" actor and comedian who was the first guest on the "Late Show with David Letterman" in 1993 |
| 32% | MICHELLEOBAMA | 13 | First Lady who sang "This Is for My Girls" with Missy Elliott in "Carpool Karaoke": 2 wds. |
| 32% | SELMALAGERLOF | 13 | Swedish novelist and short story writer who was the first woman honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature (2 wds.) |
| 32% | SINCLAIRLEWIS | 13 | Minnesota novelist and short story writer who was the first American honored with the Nobel Prize in Literature (2 wds.) |
| 32% | PEZ | 3 | Tablet-shaped candy whose name was derived from the first, middle, and last letters in the German word for peppermint |