| 100% | SLED | 4 | What a lunch tray can act as, in a pinch |
| 53% | SLED | 4 | What a cafeteria tray can be used as |
| 45% | SPEAKER | 7 | Audio player, which now comes in "Smart" variants and can act as a virtual assistant |
| 44% | PERFORM | 7 | Act, as in a play |
| 43% | STAIRS | 6 | What a broken escalator can serve as, aptly |
| 43% | GLOP | 4 | What school lunch is often depicted as in cartoons |
| 42% | CODEBREAKER | 11 | Intelligence agency employee, and what a black square acts as in rows 3, 5, 8 and 11 |
| 42% | CRAB | 4 | What might get you in a pinch? |
| 42% | SLEDS | 5 | Cafeteria trays, in a pinch |
| 41% | EWE | 3 | What could represent you in a rebus puzzle? |
| 41% | JURY | 4 | What the Senate acts as in an impeachment trial |
| 40% | MOO | 3 | What Mr. Brown can do, in a Dr. Seuss title |
| 40% | SIRI | 4 | She can act as a D.J., nowadays |
| 40% | THEREAR | 7 | What you can bring up, in a phrase |
| 39% | BEWITCH | 7 | What spirits can't do in a haint blue colored house |
| 39% | LEVITATE | 8 | Rise in the air, as in a magic act |
| 39% | EAR | 3 | Body part that can act as a pencil holder |
| 39% | OUT | 3 | What a pro can make in baseball |
| 39% | STIR | 4 | What to do to paint that's in a just-opened can |
| 39% | ARBITRATE | 9 | Act as a go-between, in a way |
| 38% | PAPAYAS | 7 | Fruits whose seeds can act as a substitute for black peppercorns |
| 38% | ACITYONAHILL | 12 | Metaphor for America's standing as a beacon of hope, and what can literally be found four times in this puzzle |
| 38% | PHONE | 5 | What can function as a camera, calendar, clock, calculator, etc. |
| 38% | PALMED | 6 | Hid, as a coin in a magic act |
| 37% | APPEARON | 8 | Act in, as a TV show |
| 37% | NAB | 3 | Catch in the act, as a criminal |
| 37% | NAB | 3 | Catch in the act, as a con |
| 37% | EMAILATTACHMENT | 15 | What a paper clip may indicate online … as represented in 22-Across |
| 37% | TRACKBALL | 9 | Sphere in a pointing device that acts as a cursor |
| 37% | BENTO | 5 | Type of box used as a lunch container in Japan |