| 100% | DEBTS | 5 | They traditionally appear in red ... and in another form in 20-, 32-, 40- and 53-Across |
| 39% | BEEF | 4 | Complaint, or a hint to the grades that start 20-, 32-, 40- and 53-Across |
| 34% | COTTONMALONE | 12 | Fictional bookseller and former spy who appears in 20 Steve Berry novels, including 18-Across and 32-Across (2 wds.) |
| 33% | NPR | 3 | Network that's "broken" in 20-, 28-, 45- and 53-Across |
| 33% | BITINGPESTS | 11 | They're hidden in 21-, 31- and 40-Across |
| 33% | HRS | 3 | Personnel depts., and what the personnel in 20-, 31-, 40- and 50-Across have in common |
| 32% | NSEW | 4 | Compass points (seen spelled out in 20-, 26-, 43- and 53-Across) |
| 32% | ACTINGAWARDS | 12 | They're "presented" in 20-, 28- and 46-Across |
| 31% | HBOMB | 5 | Cold War concern ... and what created 20-, 32-, 40- and 55-Across? |
| 31% | MOON | 4 | Its cycle is indicated by the starts of 20-, 32-, 40- and 55-Across |
| 31% | IDS | 3 | Two forms of them are found in 18-, 38- and 60-Across |
| 30% | POLICE | 6 | They can be found in 20- and 55-Across and 10- and 26-Down |
| 30% | MIRROR | 6 | Item literally useful in reading the answers to 20-, 32-, 41- and 52-Across |
| 30% | BROADWAY | 8 | Where the answers to 20-, 24-, 36- and 46-Across have appeared in lights |
| 30% | LONGDIVISION | 12 | Arithmetic exercise ... or what literally occurs in 20-, 33- and 40-Across? |
| 30% | WATER | 5 | Puzzle's theme (shown in 20-, 40-, 58-Across and 21-Down) |
| 29% | ABC | 3 | They're "easy" to find in 17- and 53-Across and 3- and 24-Down |
| 29% | WOLF | 4 | Villain in the tale named by the starts of 20-, 32-, 41- and 52-Across |
| 29% | CYCLE | 5 | What hitting the starts of 20-, 32-, 43- and 55-Across comprises, in baseball lingo |
| 29% | CRYSTALS | 8 | They appear in snow, quartz and sugar |
| 29% | JULIUS | 6 | With 25-Across, speaker of the quote hidden in 20-, 37- and 53-Across |
| 29% | LEMONADEMIXES | 13 | Tart drink concentrates, or what's literally found in 20-, 34- and 40-Across |
| 29% | NOWINSITUATIONS | 15 | Tough spots to be in … or what 17-, 20-, 38- and 53-Across represent? |
| 29% | CUTTINGTHECORD | 14 | Eschewing big cable, and a hint to 20-, 32- and 40-Across |
| 29% | NOCANDO | 7 | "Above my pay grade" ... and, read in four parts, a hint to 16-, 24-, 32-, 40- and 49-Across |
| 29% | HOUSE | 5 | Word that can follow both halves of 18-, 20-, 32-, 40-, 54- and 57-Across |
| 29% | LAST | 4 | Which words to read in 20-, 38- and 53-Across to get a warm welcome |
| 28% | TSHIRT | 6 | Where you might see the message formed by the last words in 21-, 32-, 42- and 54-Across |
| 28% | PRO | 3 | Expert, and what's in motion in 1-, 20-, 40-, 57- and 71-Across |
| 28% | FINGERPAINTS | 12 | Materials for a preschool artist … or a hint to 20-, 32- and 40-Across |