| 100% | AGEONE | 6 | Time of first steps, often |
| 56% | MOONRISE | 8 | Time of first lunar appearance each evening |
| 55% | ATOB | 4 | First step of progress |
| 53% | MORNING | 7 | Time of day for first light |
| 51% | MORNINGS | 8 | Times of day when people often drink coffee |
| 51% | XAXIS | 5 | Representer of time, often |
| 50% | SPIN | 4 | First step of a turn in The Game of Life |
| 49% | OHI | 3 | First two words of "Dixie," often |
| 49% | FROMATOB | 8 | First of many steps |
| 48% | SOUP | 4 | Often the first course of a meal |
| 48% | ONCE | 4 | First word of a fairy tale, often |
| 48% | BONO | 4 | First Time Person of the Year musician |
| 48% | CUTONBOLDLINES | 14 | First step of instructions for what to do with this finished puzzle |
| 47% | SALVADOR | 8 | First name of The Persistence of Time painter |
| 47% | BORDER | 6 | First completed part of a jigsaw puzzle, often |
| 47% | LINDBERGH | 9 | First Time Magazine "Man of the Year": Charles __ |
| 47% | IPO | 3 | First time stock sale (anagram of "poi"): Abbr. |
| 47% | MARGARETFARRAR | 14 | First puzzle editor of The New York Times |
| 47% | EON | 3 | Unit of time often used hyperbolically |
| 47% | IMSORRY | 7 | "Saying '___' is the first step ..." (start of some Daniel Tiger advice) |
| 46% | APR | 3 | First full month of Major League Baseball, often: Abbr. |
| 46% | PLEISTOCENE | 11 | First epoch of the Quaternary period in geological time |
| 46% | TRIASSIC | 8 | Geological time period of the first dinosaurs |
| 46% | HERES | 5 | First word of a toast, often |
| 46% | LOBBY | 5 | First floor of a hotel, often |
| 46% | DEAR | 4 | First word of a letter, often |
| 46% | LEE | 3 | The first step of treating a cut is stopping the b___ding |
| 46% | ELON | 4 | First name of Time's 2021 Person of the Year |
| 46% | JACKDEMPSEY | 11 | First athlete to appear on the cover of Time magazine |
| 45% | ERA | 3 | Period of time often named for a president |