| 100% | MOONRISE | 8 | Time of first lunar appearance each evening |
| 41% | AGEONE | 6 | Time of first steps, often |
| 38% | SUNSET | 6 | Photographer's favorite time of the evening |
| 37% | MORNING | 7 | Time of day for first light |
| 37% | AFT | 3 | Time of day before the evening: Abbr. |
| 36% | DAYBREAK | 8 | First appearance of light |
| 36% | DAWN | 4 | First appearance of daylight |
| 35% | AFTERNOON | 9 | Time of day between morning and evening |
| 35% | PEEP | 4 | First appearance, as of dawn |
| 35% | ONSET | 5 | First appearance, as of illness |
| 35% | ONSET | 5 | First appearance, as of symptoms |
| 35% | ONSET | 5 | First appearance, as of the flu |
| 35% | ONSET | 5 | First appearance, as of cold symptoms |
| 34% | BONO | 4 | First Time Person of the Year musician |
| 34% | BERTH | 5 | Heard first appearance of bed |
| 33% | SALVADOR | 8 | First name of The Persistence of Time painter |
| 33% | LINDBERGH | 9 | First Time Magazine "Man of the Year": Charles __ |
| 33% | IPO | 3 | First time stock sale (anagram of "poi"): Abbr. |
| 33% | MARGARETFARRAR | 14 | First puzzle editor of The New York Times |
| 33% | DEBUT | 5 | First appearance, as of an actor in a movie |
| 33% | PLEISTOCENE | 11 | First epoch of the Quaternary period in geological time |
| 32% | TRIASSIC | 8 | Geological time period of the first dinosaurs |
| 32% | THELOVEBUG | 10 | First film appearance of Herbie, a sentient 1963 Volkswagen Beetle |
| 32% | ELON | 4 | First name of Time's 2021 Person of the Year |
| 32% | JACKDEMPSEY | 11 | First athlete to appear on the cover of Time magazine |
| 32% | PALER | 5 | Even more in need of some time in the sun |
| 31% | SAHL | 4 | First-ever comedian to appear on the cover of Time (1960) |
| 31% | MONTH | 5 | Period of time that lasts about one lunar cycle |
| 31% | ACROSTIC | 8 | The first letter of each line spells a word |
| 31% | DISCOVERY | 9 | The act of finding something for the first time |