| 100% | SOLIDLIQUIDGAS | 14 | Three main 20-Across ... with examples included in 38-Across and 11- and 26-Down |
| 39% | PRIMENUMBER | 11 | 17- and 38-Across and 11- and 25-Down all start with one |
| 39% | COUNT | 5 | With 61-Across, advice for an insomniac ... or what you can do 12 times in this puzzle, reading across and down (not including this answer) |
| 38% | THEDESCENTOFMAN | 15 | Darwin work ... with a hint to three consecutive letters in 3-, 4-, 7-, 9- and 11-Down |
| 38% | DATES | 5 | Calendar units hidden in 20- and 61-Across and 11- and 35-Down |
| 38% | KOS | 3 | Boxing stats found in 20- and 60-Across and 11- and 34-Down |
| 38% | FIRSTMATES | 10 | Title of this puzzle, in reference to 17- and 39-Across and 11- and 26-Down |
| 38% | POLICE | 6 | They can be found in 20- and 55-Across and 10- and 26-Down |
| 38% | YOULL | 5 | With 21 Across, 3 Down, 8 Down, and 20 Down, response to Ralphie's request for a BB gun in "A Christmas Story" |
| 37% | SEEINGSTARS | 11 | In pain, and what you're doing for the answers to 17- and 38-Across and 11- and 29-Down |
| 37% | POOL | 4 | Game suggested by the ends of 20-, 38- and 55-Across and 11- and 34-Down |
| 35% | JUNEIS | 6 | With 4 Down, 26 Across, and 18 Down, "Carousel" song famously slaughtered by Leslie Uggams |
| 35% | WHATITSALLABOUT | 15 | The main takeaway … or, when considered in three different senses, a description of 20-, 33- and 41-Across |
| 35% | WHATA | 5 | With 15 and 20 Across, a 1967 song sung by Louis Armstrong in "Good Morning, Vietnam" |
| 35% | BRENT | 5 | George ___, co-star with Bette Davis in 11 films, including "Dark Victory" and "Jezebel" |
| 35% | NO | 2 | With 38-Across, what a two-letter answer is in a crossword, usually ... or a hint to 20-, 24-, 44- and 51-Across |
| 34% | LEGALIZED | 9 | With 20 Across, what the people of AZ, NJ, MT, and SD voted for by proposition in 2020 |
| 33% | SET | 3 | With ''to'' and 26 Down, pacify |
| 33% | AMESSAGEIN | 10 | With 38- and 56-Across, what's hidden in this puzzle |
| 33% | HAUNTED | 7 | With 66-Across, spooky property that might include a 20-Across and a 7-, 25- and 28-Down |
| 33% | BUD | 3 | Dog included in the first automobile trip across the US, with Horatio Nelson Jackson and Sewall K. Crocker |
| 32% | HALF | 4 | With 38- and 40-Across, grocery purchase ... or what can be found in some other Across answers in this puzzle |
| 32% | ALL | 3 | With 36-Down and 38-Across, Blink-182 hit song, and a description of four long answers in this puzzle |
| 32% | BTS | 3 | Group with 26-Down in Korean, Japanese and English |
| 32% | MAKEYOURWAY | 11 | With 26-Down, how to succeed in business, and a hint to this puzzle |
| 32% | RISINGSTAR | 10 | Up-and-comer, or a progression found in 29-, 23-, 20-, 9-, and 11-Down |
| 32% | JUMPING | 7 | With 58-Across, cardio exercise ... and what's hidden in three puzzle rows? |
| 31% | AAA | 3 | Clue to 20- and 55-Across and 11- and 29-Down |
| 31% | AUTOS | 5 | Ends of 20- and 57-Across and 11- and 34-Down |
| 31% | RUNNINGGAG | 10 | Joke used repeatedly ... and aptly found in 19-, 26-, 38-, 46- and 54-Across |