| 100% | SECRETARY | 9 | With 35-Across, 2013-2015 government position of Chuck Hagel, who called US goalkeeper Tim Howard to thank him |
| 26% | ERNIE | 5 | With 35-Across, baseball player who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 and died 1/23/15 |
| 25% | THOMAS | 6 | With 37-Across, inventor who held 1,093 US patents and is called "the Wizard of Menlo Park" |
| 23% | 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 |
| 23% | KERRY | 5 | John who was US Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017 |
| 23% | USG | 3 | Monogram of a future president who fortuitously declined President Lincoln's invitation to attend Ford's Theater with him |
| 23% | ARIANAGRANDE | 12 | "Thank U Next" singer who sings "Met Him Last Night" with Demi Lovato on "Dancing with the Devil ... the Art of Starting Over" (2 wds.) |
| 22% | ANTHONY | 7 | With 35-Across, first pick of the 2013 NBA draft, taken by the Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 22% | SECRET | 6 | With 35-Across, anonymous voting method, and a hint to each set of circled letters |
| 22% | AARON | 5 | With 35-Across, Yankee right fielder who broke the records of 18-Across and 38-Across |
| 22% | RUDOLPHTHE | 10 | With 57 Across, a more accurate way to describe the guy who works the mother of all night jobs? |
| 22% | CANDY | 5 | With 35-Across, "The Man Who Fell to Earth" actress who played Debbie Dunham in "American Graffiti" |
| 22% | ROSIE | 5 | With 35-Across, "White Men Can't Jump" actress who plays Renee Montoya in "Birds of Prey" |
| 22% | ARIANAGRANDE | 12 | "Thank U, Next" pop singer who got her seventh #1 hit with a remix of 38-Across: 2 wds. |
| 22% | OSCAR | 5 | With 35-Across, playwright who was buried in Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery, though he wasn't French |
| 22% | JUSTIN | 6 | With 35-Across, "Yummy" singer who won the Pop Album of the Year Juno in 2011 and 2016 |
| 22% | JAYJOHNSON | 10 | Head coach of 35-Across who won league championships with the University of Nevada in 2015 and the University of Arizona in 2021 (2 wds.) |
| 22% | CURTIS | 6 | With 35-Across, Pennsylvania-born Football Hall of Famer who attended the University of Pittsburgh |
| 22% | KATEY | 5 | With 35-Across, "Sons of Anarchy" actress who plays the title character in "Rebel" |
| 21% | GIGIHADID | 9 | Supermodel with 35 appearances on the cover of "Vogue" who co-hosts 32-Across (2 wds.) |
| 21% | EDDIE | 5 | With 17-Across, English actor who plays 35-Across in "The Theory of Everything" |
| 21% | ANGELA | 6 | With 33-Across, German leader who was Time's 2015 Person of the Year |
| 21% | WARREN | 6 | With 35-Across, actor who played Clyde, one of the title characters on the run in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde" |
| 21% | UNCLE | 5 | With 8-Across, personification of the U.S. government |
| 20% | SWING | 5 | With 20 Across, place where your vote actually matters in the US, thanks to the Electoral College |
| 20% | RONALD | 6 | With 39-Across, film star and future US president who was president of SAG, 1959-1960 |
| 20% | ARIANA | 6 | With 35-Across, singer of "Bang Bang" who was a first-time Grammy nominee for Best Pop Vocal Album |
| 20% | BUBBLEBUBBLE | 12 | With 72 Across, reason to call a plumber? |
| 20% | HIVE | 4 | With 58-Across, collective consciousness ... or a hint to the ends of 19-, 35- and 52-Across |
| 20% | WESLEY | 6 | With 35-Across, "Blade" actor who played Noxeema the drag queen in "To Wong Foo ..." |