| 100% | DEMS | 4 | Those hoping for a "blue wave" in Nov. |
| 49% | DAMSEL | 6 | Woman hoping for a knight in shining armor |
| 46% | NODRAMA | 7 | What most hope for in a relationship |
| 46% | EASEL | 5 | Stand for a painting that's in progress |
| 45% | ELBOWROOM | 9 | What one might hope for in a tight spot |
| 45% | EARWORM | 7 | Slang for a song that sticks in the mind |
| 45% | DECIDUOUS | 9 | Word for a tree that loses leaves in winter |
| 44% | NOME | 4 | Ending place for a race that starts in March in Anchorage |
| 44% | VIPER | 5 | Dodge model, named for a snake, that ended production in 2017 |
| 44% | METOO | 5 | Twitter hashtag for a social movement that took off in 2017 |
| 44% | TACO | 4 | Slang term for a Frisbee that's been bent in half |
| 44% | NOWPLAYING | 10 | Trailer-ending words for a movie that’s already in theatres |
| 44% | VELVET | 6 | Material for a soft stool that was popular in the '70s |
| 43% | NYT | 3 | Paper whose Tech Guild went on strike for a week in Nov. |
| 43% | TWIT | 4 | British slang for a foolish person that can be found in "Twitter" |
| 43% | MACRAME | 7 | Material for a knotted wall decor that was popular in the '70s |
| 43% | STU | 3 | Room for a recording artist, in slang that elides -dio |
| 43% | SNIGLET | 7 | Term for a word that isn't in the dictionary but should be |
| 43% | TIE | 3 | ___ tack, tiny fastener for a formal neckpiece that helps hold it in place |
| 42% | UMPS | 4 | Crew in blue at a baseball match, for short |
| 42% | OREO | 4 | Cookie that typically comes in a dark blue package |
| 42% | NRA | 3 | Org. that's a topic in "Bowling for Columbine" |
| 42% | KOI | 3 | Fish that's a homophone for "love" in Japanese |
| 42% | USOC | 4 | Org. that added a P for "Paralympic" in 2019 |
| 42% | CRAB | 4 | Ingredient in a cake that's not for dessert |
| 42% | ARE | 3 | Verb that "R" may stand for in a text |
| 42% | SLING | 5 | Support for an arm that's in a cast |
| 42% | IDIOM | 5 | "Once in a blue moon," for example |
| 42% | DART | 4 | Acronym for a NASA space mission for defending Earth that was deployed in 2021 |
| 42% | CACTI | 5 | Plural for a plant that grows in the desert, has spikes, and holds water |