| 100% | GASOLINE | 8 | This powered the first car in 1886 |
| 50% | ODESSA | 6 | City that was home to the first car in Russia |
| 48% | PROGRESS | 8 | The first step in this is discontent |
| 47% | WORD | 4 | The first one in this clue is "The" |
| 47% | HEAD | 4 | The first blank in this phrase: From ___ to ___ |
| 46% | OLYMPIC | 7 | The first modern one of these games was in Greece |
| 45% | TESLA | 5 | Company whose first car was the Roadster, in 2008 |
| 45% | TOBACCO | 7 | Rolfe was the first to cultivate this in Virginia |
| 45% | ELDORADO | 8 | The first complete navigation of the Amazon was in search of this |
| 44% | HONDAACCORD | 11 | First car from a Japanese manufacturer to be made in the U.S. (1982) |
| 43% | ATOMICPILE | 10 | The first one of these was built by Fermi and his team in 1942 |
| 43% | GOREVIDALNOVELS | 15 | What the first words of eight long answers in this puzzle are |
| 43% | MADAMSPEAKER | 12 | *Nancy Pelosi was the first person ever to have this title in Congress |
| 43% | YEAR | 4 | Span represented by the first three letters of 12 answers in this puzzle |
| 43% | ORRIN | 5 | First name in the senate from 1977 to earlier this month |
| 42% | FOREFATHER | 10 | Ancestor ... or what the first word of seven answers in this puzzle can have? |
| 42% | AMBULANCE | 9 | Vehicle whose sound is imitated by the first three Across entries in this puzzle |
| 42% | PHONETIC | 8 | Apt word spelled out by the first letters of eight answers in this puzzle |
| 42% | ACME | 4 | Synonym for the first word in this puzzle's title |
| 42% | VCR | 3 | The first commercial one of these was introduced by Ampex in 1956 and cost roughly $50,000 |
| 41% | USN | 3 | JFK was the first president to have served in this branch of the US Armed Forces |
| 40% | JOHNGRISHAMNOVEL | 16 | What the first word of each of seven answers in this puzzle is, when preceded by “The” |
| 40% | JOHN | 4 | In 1912, 24,587 new male babies in the US were given this first name |
| 40% | THEOTHERAMERICA | 15 | Read the first letter in each clue to get a quote from this '67 speech |
| 40% | JAMESBOND | 9 | Dr. No was the first film in this spy series |
| 40% | OPS | 3 | Roderick Ross was the first chief constable for this force, established in Canada's capital in 1855 (abbr.) |
| 40% | ICHIRO | 6 | Suzuki who will be the first Japanese player in the Baseball Hall of Fame when inducted this July |
| 39% | VAPOR | 5 | What powered the first calliopes |
| 39% | DANICAPATRICK | 13 | Racing great who became the first woman driver to win an Indy car race in April 2008 (2 wds.) |
| 39% | PEAR | 4 | On the first day of Christmas, your true love may send you a partridge in this "poached fruit" tree |