| 100% | COMPETE | 7 | To attempt to be the best |
| 68% | RULE | 4 | Be the best, so to speak |
| 66% | GILLETTE | 8 | Shaving brand said to be the best a man can get |
| 65% | YET | 3 | The best is ___ to come |
| 64% | POLICY | 6 | Honesty is the best one, according to the saying |
| 63% | RACISM | 6 | What excellence is the best deterrent to, per Oprah Winfrey |
| 63% | BEDS | 4 | Bunk___ are the best way for kids to share rooms |
| 62% | NOOSE | 5 | The loop it's best to be out of |
| 62% | OPPORTUNE | 9 | The best moment for something to happen is this |
| 61% | STARTOVER | 9 | It may be the best thing to do when you're stuck |
| 61% | LAWYER | 6 | "Compromise is the best and cheapest ___" (saying attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson) |
| 61% | PEDESTALS | 9 | The great & good are placed on them, to be revered |
| 61% | ITMAY | 5 | "___ be better to leave the lights on...": 2 wds. |
| 60% | ASLEEP | 6 | Not a good thing to be at the wheel |
| 60% | NEXTTOPMODEL | 12 | "America's ___," American reality show hosted by Rita Ora, where models compete to be the best: 3 wds. |
| 58% | EAT | 3 | "People who love to ___ are always the best people": Julia Child |
| 58% | FASTRELIEF | 10 | The only thing we have to fear is ... feeling better quickly? |
| 58% | ERR | 3 | It is better to ___ on the side of caution |
| 58% | GRADES | 6 | The aim is to get good __: A, B, C |
| 58% | ISYET | 5 | ''The best __ to be'' |
| 58% | ANG | 3 | Lee who was the first Asian to win a best-director Oscar |
| 58% | MALARIA | 7 | Disease that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is attempting to eradicate |
| 58% | WAVELENGTH | 10 | It's good for team members to be on the same one |
| 58% | ONA | 3 | "___ scale of one to ten, how good was the movie?": 2 wds. |
| 58% | AMERICANIDOL | 12 | American reality show hosted by Ryan Seacrest, where contestants compete to be the best singer, chosen by the viewers: 2 wds. |
| 57% | MISTRAL | 7 | Medium art is better left to the wind |
| 57% | JACKSON | 7 | First US President to be the target of an assassination attempt (which failed), on January 30, 1835 |
| 57% | MEDIANVOTER | 11 | The polls to decide on the best roadway divider are busy; expect delays for the ___.
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| 57% | POITIER | 7 | Sidney who was the first African-American to win a Best Actor Oscar |
| 57% | POITIER | 7 | Sidney who was the first African American to win a Best Actor Oscar |