| 100% | MENCKEN | 7 | Who once described puritanism as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy" |
| 32% | NAOMIKLEIN | 10 | Author who described her book “Doppelganger” as being about “the horror of the society that flips fascist from within” (September, 2023) |
| 31% | CRUSTPUNK | 9 | Subculture that might aptly be described as gritty |
| 30% | HERO | 4 | *Person who saves the day... and a word you may use to describe those being celebrated in this puzzle |
| 30% | LASS | 4 | Scot who may be described as "bonnie" |
| 30% | TAPWATER | 8 | Resource that may be described as "piped" |
| 30% | REPORTER | 8 | Journalist who might be described as "intrepid" |
| 30% | URGE | 4 | Impulse that might be described as "primal" |
| 30% | DECADENTDESSERT | 15 | Food that might be described as "sinful" |
| 30% | KNEES | 5 | Joints that might be described as "bum" |
| 30% | ATM | 3 | ___ Inside (sign that someone who's low on cash would be happy to see) |
| 30% | IDEA | 4 | Thought that might be described as "half-baked" |
| 30% | KAZOO | 5 | Instrument that might be described as 6-Across |
| 30% | SLOTH | 5 | Animal that might be described as two-toed |
| 30% | RICKPERRY | 9 | Former Secretary of Energy who once said that the D.O.E. should be abolished |
| 29% | AHERO | 5 | "__ is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom": Dylan |
| 29% | EDDIE | 5 | Comedian Izzard who once described the European Union as “the cutting edge of politics, in a very extraordinarily boring way” |
| 29% | MORSE | 5 | Inventor who might be described as dotty or dashing? |
| 29% | ALIBI | 5 | Excuse that might be described as airtight or ironclad |
| 29% | NOSE | 4 | Part of the face that could be described as Roman or Grecian |
| 29% | SOUTHPAW | 8 | Someone who might be called a "cuddy wifter" in the U.K. |
| 29% | RANT | 4 | Post that might be described as a “wall of text” |
| 29% | ABS | 3 | Muscles that might be described as "rock-hard" or "ripped" |
| 29% | CEMENTSHOES | 11 | Things that may be worn by someone sleeping with the fishes |
| 28% | HOTSAKE | 7 | Drink that can be described as jyoh-kan or astu-kan, depending on the temperature |
| 28% | ENDERMIC | 8 | Acting through the skin, as medicines that were once used to treat rheumatism and arthritis |
| 28% | PERHAPS | 7 | As the case may be |
| 28% | UBER | 4 | App that might be used frequently by someone who doesn't own a car |
| 28% | OKRA | 4 | Someone who loves it might be called a friend of the pod |