| 100% | SWORD | 5 | Weapon used to slay the [circled letters] |
| 55% | LYING | 5 | What causes the circled letters to grow? |
| 55% | THEAS | 5 | California team [and 18 letters in the grid to circle ... and then connect using three lines] |
| 55% | FOLLOWDIRECTIONS | 16 | What one must do using the circled letters to solve this puzzle |
| 55% | ARROWS | 6 | Weapons used to finish off the Greek army at Thermopylae |
| 52% | PUPA | 4 | Life stage originally represented by the circled letters, prior to metamorphosis |
| 52% | CUT | 3 | With the circled letters, a hint to solving seven Across clues |
| 51% | SWITCHBLADE | 11 | Street weapon ... or a hint to the circled letters in this puzzle |
| 50% | STLOUISMISSOURI | 15 | City with a landmark spelled out by the circled letters, reading left to right |
| 50% | FRENCHTWIST | 11 | Elegant hairstyle, and what the circled letters give to 17-, 30-, and 47-Across? |
| 50% | SCALE | 5 | Device related to the circled letters |
| 50% | ANGLE | 5 | Relationship of the circled letters to the apt words they connect to in this puzzle |
| 50% | RINSECYCLE | 10 | Part of washing ... or what's exhibited by the circled letters from top to bottom |
| 49% | FRIENDREQUEST | 13 | Facebook invite ... to which the circled letters respond |
| 49% | ANDY | 4 | "Toy Story" boy ... or, with the circled letters, a hint to 20-, 39- and 53-Across |
| 49% | THREE | 5 | With the circled letters, a literal depiction of what you need to win tic-tac-toe? |
| 48% | STAMP | 5 | Use one to send a letter anywhere in the world |
| 47% | URBANSPRAWL | 11 | Unrestricted city expansion ... and what begins in the circled letters (and ends in uncircled ones for you to find) |
| 46% | GOD | 3 | What each set of circled letters is, relative to the first word in its answer |
| 46% | RUDOLPH | 7 | Who's depicted in this puzzle when the circled letters are connected from A to Z and back to A |
| 46% | OMEGA | 5 | Greek letter used to denote the last entry in a series |
| 46% | QWERTYKEYBOARDS | 15 | Places to find the letters circled in the grid |
| 46% | BLOOD | 5 | Drippings appropriately positioned under the circled letters |
| 46% | GOLDNUGGETS | 11 | Valuable finds suggested by the circled letters |
| 46% | KESHA | 5 | Pop singer who used to use a dollar sign for the third letter of her name |
| 46% | DRUGSMUGGLER | 12 | The circled letters, e.g. |
| 46% | CABLENETWORK | 12 | The circled letters, e.g. |
| 46% | SOUTHEASTASIAN | 14 | The circled letters, e.g. |
| 46% | ODDNUMBER | 9 | The circled letters, e.g. |
| 46% | ACADEMYSTUDENT | 14 | The circled letters, e.g. |