| 100% | BUCK | 4 | With 35-Across, 10-time "SNL" host who was Belushi's straight man in samurai routines |
| 36% | OSCAR | 5 | With 35-Across, playwright who was buried in Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery, though he wasn't French |
| 34% | CANDY | 5 | With 35-Across, "The Man Who Fell to Earth" actress who played Debbie Dunham in "American Graffiti" |
| 34% | ROSIE | 5 | With 35-Across, "White Men Can't Jump" actress who plays Renee Montoya in "Birds of Prey" |
| 33% | LADY | 4 | With 35-Across, "Born This Way" singer who plays Ally in "A Star Is Born" |
| 31% | AARON | 5 | With 30-Across, New York Yankees slugger who was Time's Athlete of the Year in 2022 |
| 31% | MARAT | 5 | With 31-Across, Russian tennis player who became the youngest man to be ranked #1, at 20, in 2000 |
| 31% | ANDERSONCOOPER | 14 | CNN host who was honored with the 2018 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism (2 wds.) |
| 30% | MILEY | 5 | With 32-Across, "Party in the U.S.A." singer who was both the host and musical guest on 2013 and 2015 "SNL" episodes |
| 30% | DRY | 3 | With 10 Across, what cannot be seen in the house after a tearjerker |
| 30% | ARIANA | 6 | With 35-Across, singer of "Bang Bang" who was a first-time Grammy nominee for Best Pop Vocal Album |
| 29% | GRACE | 5 | With 35-Across, actress who starred with Cary Grant in Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" |
| 29% | JENNIFER | 8 | With 35-Across, actress who starred in both the "Hunger Games" and "X-Men" movie franchises |
| 29% | MEGANTHEE | 9 | With 46-Across, "Savage" rapper who both hosted and was the musical act in a 2022 "SNL" episode: 2 wds. |
| 29% | GATES | 5 | Melinda ___, philanthropist who was the TIME "Person of the Year" in 2005 along with U2 frontman Bono |
| 29% | THREE | 5 | "___ Weeks Notice," 2006 dramedy about siblings who are forced to spend time together ... with 40a added in |
| 29% | SOONG | 5 | ___ Mei-ling, former First Lady of China who was the TIME "Man and Wife of the Year" in 1937 along with her husband Chiang Kai-shek |
| 29% | MARK | 4 | ___ Twain, famous author who was friends with the scientist Nikola Tesla and often spent time in his lab |
| 29% | SHERYLSWOOPES | 13 | Basketball Hall of Famer who was the WNBA's MVP three times with the 31-Across (2 wds.) |
| 29% | PAULA | 5 | With 35-Across, "Straight Up" singer who's a panelist on "The Masked Dancer" |
| 28% | SNAPE | 5 | Professor who was in love with Harry Potter's mom |
| 28% | LARRY | 5 | With 31-Across, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" actor and former "SNL" writer who returned to host in 2016 |
| 28% | WESLEY | 6 | With 35-Across, "Passenger 57" actor who played crime lord Simon Phoenix in 15-Across |
| 28% | WESLEY | 6 | With 35-Across, "Blade" actor who played Noxeema the drag queen in "To Wong Foo ..." |
| 28% | TIMOTHEE | 8 | With 35-Across, "Little Women" actor who plays the lead character Paul Atreides in "Dune" |
| 28% | ROBERT | 6 | With 35-Across, "Raging Bull" actor who played Sergeant Mike Vronsky in "The Deer Hunter" |
| 28% | SEANCONNERY | 11 | 50-Across's co-star in "The Man Who Would Be King" |
| 28% | SIRICA | 6 | Judge John who was Time's 1973 Man of the Year |
| 28% | DAVIDHO | 7 | AIDS researcher who was Time's 1996 Man of the Year |
| 28% | LINDA | 5 | With 35-Across, actress who played Regan MacNeil in 18-Across |