| 100% | BIGBANG | 7 | This is the way the world began, per 51-Across |
| 69% | WHIMPER | 7 | "This is the way the world ends," per 24-Across |
| 48% | TSELIOT | 7 | Who wrote "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" |
| 48% | ELIOT | 5 | Poet who wrote "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" |
| 48% | TAO | 3 | This is the way |
| 43% | MEN | 3 | "The Hollow ___," poem by T.S. Eliot which has the famous lines "...This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but with a whimper" |
| 42% | LENT | 4 | Pancake Day is the day before this begins |
| 41% | INFECTION | 9 | Invaders were killed by this in War of the Worlds |
| 40% | KHALIFA | 7 | This Burj is the tallest building in the world |
| 40% | NUCLEARFAMILY | 13 | Members of this can be found in the centers of 17-, 24-, 51- and 60-Across |
| 40% | DENMARK | 7 | This country's flag is the oldest in the world |
| 40% | ANACONDA | 8 | This green type of snake is the world's largest |
| 39% | TURNBACK | 8 | With 65 Across, return to the way it was |
| 39% | MULLIGANS | 9 | These might be given on a golf course, after the ends of 17-, 25-, 39- and 51-Across |
| 38% | STONE | 5 | The Washington Monument is the world's tallest structure made of this |
| 38% | ODETOMAN | 8 | Sophocles tribute that begins "Numberless are the world's wonders ..." |
| 38% | CANADA | 6 | Most of the world's lakes are in this country |
| 38% | DONNE | 5 | "What if this present were the world's last night?" poet |
| 38% | GHOST | 5 | With 13 Across, chilis that are among the world's hottest |
| 37% | TIEATIE | 7 | The way to do this is the #1 how-to search, according to Google |
| 37% | STARTURN | 8 | Most heralded performance...or what the beginning of 13 Across may be? |
| 37% | CANDIDE | 7 | Source of the line "If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others?" |
| 37% | ASPEN | 5 | The world's largest organism by mass, known as Pando, is this type of tree |
| 37% | MILE | 4 | The current world record for this distance is 3:43.13 |
| 36% | CASABLANCA | 10 | 1942 film that ends with the line “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” |
| 36% | TYRANT | 6 | "The only ___ I accept in this world is the still small voice within me": Gandhi |
| 36% | BUILT | 5 | "___ This Way," 2004 song by Samantha Ronson that was featured on the "Mean Girls" soundtrack |
| 36% | GAME | 4 | "___ of Thrones," TV series that will begin taking the world by storm in 2011 |
| 36% | AMBULANCE | 9 | Vehicle whose sound is imitated by the first three Across entries in this puzzle |
| 36% | DEMOCRACY | 9 | The best argument against this is a five-minute conversation with the average voter, per Winston Churchill |