| 100% | SEED | 4 | What is planted in the soil and could become a tree? |
| 43% | BOOK | 4 | What you find in a library, or a word which can be used at the start of 20a, 25a, 35a, 48a, 55a, 31d, and 45d |
| 43% | ATEFORTWO | 9 | Dined with a bun in the oven, or what can be found in 17-, 26-, 40-, and 51-Across |
| 42% | HIDDENGEM | 9 | Diamond in the rough, and what can be found in each set of circles |
| 42% | HAVEACASE | 9 | Be justified in pressing a suit, and what the starred answers all do |
| 41% | NINETOFIVEJOBS | 14 | Predictable work ... and, in a way, what the other three longest answers are? |
| 41% | SEED | 4 | What a gardener plants into the soil, so it can grow into something beautiful |
| 40% | PUTONASHOW | 10 | Perform in the theater ... and what can be done to the end of 17-, 25-, 37- and 48-Across |
| 40% | DEUCESWILD | 10 | Card game declaration, and a hint to what can be found in the four other longest answers |
| 40% | BALLDROP | 8 | New Year's Eve tradition in the Big Apple, and what can be found in 3-, 8-, 33-, and 37-Down? |
| 39% | HOLEINONE | 9 | The best score one can get in golf, also called ace, and is a very rare occurrence: 3 wds. |
| 39% | NEPTUNE | 7 | Planet in the Solar System that is at 8th position from the Sun and that can become as cold as -330*F |
| 39% | CHECKMATE | 9 | Grandmaster's last word ... and what the last word in 17-, 24-, 36- and 52-Across can be |
| 39% | DEADEND | 7 | Like jobs with no future ... and what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be? |
| 38% | TONGUETIED | 10 | At a loss for words, and what the starts of 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across can literally be? |
| 38% | PHOTOFINISH | 11 | End of a close race ... and what the last part of the answers to starred clues can literally be |
| 38% | TAKEFIVE | 8 | Go on a break, or what the starts of 16-, 20-, 32-, 43-, and 57-Across can be called |
| 38% | EYEOPENER | 9 | Shock to the system, and what the start of each answer to a starred clue can be |
| 38% | BENTOUTOFSHAPE | 14 | Upset ... and what can be found in the four other longest answers? |
| 38% | PARTINGSHOT | 11 | End of a testy exchange, and what can be found four times in this puzzle, thanks to four black squares |
| 38% | ROCKANDROLL | 11 | Genre with a Hall of Fame in Cleveland … or what can follow the respective halves of 17-, 33- and 40-Across |
| 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% | SPACE | 5 | The "S" in NASA, and a word that can be used alongside 22a, 39a, 40a, 50a, 27d, and 29d |
| 37% | BODYLANGUAGE | 12 | Nonverbal communication, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues? |
| 37% | CHANGEAGENT | 11 | Modern innovator, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues |
| 37% | CHOPPYWATERS | 12 | Rough sailing, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues |
| 37% | SAMESEXCOUPLES | 14 | Some partners, and what can be found in the answers to the starred clues? |
| 37% | MEN | 3 | What was "raining" in a 1982 megahit by the Weather Girls |
| 37% | TOBUILDAFIRE | 12 | Jack London short story set in harsh winter conditions, and what the ends of 20-, 28-, and 47-Across can be used for |
| 37% | SEA | 3 | In the world, there is a Red one and a Dead one |