| 100% | SHORTFALL | 9 | Unexpected deficit, and a description of 3-, 5-, 7- and 30-Down |
| 56% | NEWSPAPERCOLUMN | 15 | Place to express an opinion ... or a literal description of 3-, 7-, 9- and 21-Down? |
| 50% | HIGHHOLIDAYS | 12 | Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur . . . and a feature of 3-, 7-, 9-, and 20-Down? |
| 47% | DEWDROP | 7 | Bit of morning moisture, and a hint to 3-, 8-, 30- and 34-Down |
| 46% | ROCKCLIMBER | 11 | Athlete who might have a "belayed" reaction, and what 3-, 5-, 9-, and 30-Down each contain? |
| 45% | CROWNJEWELS | 11 | Some sparklers at King Charles III's coronation, and a literal feature of 3-, 7-, and 22-Down? |
| 45% | PAYUP | 5 | Settle a tab, and a feature of the answers to 3-, 6-, 10- and 30-Down |
| 45% | COLDPLUNGE | 10 | Post-workout water therapy option, or a description of the ends of 1-, 4-, and 7-Down |
| 45% | DOWNWARDDOG | 11 | Popular yoga pose ... or a literal hint to the ends of 3-, 7-, 9- and 21-Down |
| 45% | FROMATOB | 8 | First leg of a journey, and a description of 20-, 30-, 38-, and 49-Across |
| 44% | SOCIALCAPITAL | 13 | Network of personal relationships ... or a punny hint to 3-, 7- and 11-Down |
| 44% | WHATCHAUPTO | 11 | "Anything fun on the agenda today?," or a hint to the starts of 3-, 7-, 21-, and 29-Down |
| 43% | CHOCOLATEDROP | 13 | Kiss alternative ... or a hint to the starts of 3-, 5-, 10-, 14-, 26-, 64- and 68-Down |
| 43% | RUNDOWN | 7 | Seedy, and an apt description of a word hidden in 3-, 9-, 29- and 33-Down |
| 43% | DROPSHOTS | 9 | Tricky tennis returns, and a hint to the starts of 3-, 7-, 9- and 24-Down |
| 43% | CONNECTFOUR | 11 | Game involving dropping discs ... or a description of 17-, 30-, 37-, and 45-Across? |
| 43% | ACTUP | 5 | Make mischief, and a hint to what's found in 3-, 5-, 7-, 34- and 38-Down |
| 42% | DROPPEDCALL | 11 | Weak signal result, and an apt description of a word hidden in 3-, 8-, 18- and 20-Down |
| 42% | RACETOTHEBOTTOM | 15 | Competition that hurts everyone, and a feature of 3-, 8-, 22- and 34-Down |
| 42% | CONEHEADS | 9 | Dan Aykroyd film, and a hint to the starts of 18- and 38-Across and 3- and 30-Down |
| 41% | ODD | 3 | Like 3, 5, and 7 (and the opposite of 50-Across) |
| 41% | ODDSANDENDS | 11 | Miscellany ... or a description of the final words in 15-, 23-, 30-, 38- and 43-Across |
| 41% | TIANOMORE | 9 | Star of "Earth Mama" ... or a summary of what's happened to 3 Down and 6 Down? |
| 40% | SITE | 4 | Web page … and a homophone of 1- and 5-Down |
| 39% | WEST | 4 | With 7- and 5-Across, 2021 film remake of a classic 1957 musical |
| 39% | VANS | 4 | Moving vehicles, one of which is "moving" across rows 3, 5, and 7 of this puzzle |
| 39% | HANGINGAROUND | 13 | Loitering ... or how 3-, 5-, 7- and 9-Down might be seen? |
| 38% | BOWLS | 5 | Starts of 21- and 53-Across and 3- and 30-Down |
| 38% | BELLBOTTOMS | 11 | '70s fashion trend ... and features of 3-, 5- and 9-Down |
| 38% | MYOUTPUTISDOWNBUT | 17 | Start of a comment by 3- and 126-Down |