| 100% | HUGH | 4 | With 44-Across, founder of Playboy magazine |
| 52% | HENRY | 5 | With 44-Across, hitter of 755 home runs |
| 52% | ARABIAN | 7 | With 44-Across, Middle Eastern body of water |
| 51% | ORONO | 5 | With 44-Across, home of a major Northeast university |
| 50% | KNICKKNACK | 10 | With 44-Across, part of a children's song refrain |
| 50% | NORTHERN | 8 | With 44-Across, birthplace of Rory McIlroy and Jamie Dornan |
| 50% | BONNIE | 6 | With 44-Across, female half of a 1930s crime duo |
| 50% | HEF | 3 | Founder of Playboy, familiarly |
| 47% | THEHATFIELDS | 12 | With 44 Across, legendary Southern feuding families |
| 47% | POLITICSIS | 10 | With 44 Across, Will Rogers on parties |
| 47% | IMMEDIATELY | 11 | Without delay, with 44 Across |
| 47% | SILVER | 6 | With 44-Across, bit of consolation ... or a feature of this puzzle's grid? |
| 46% | POTENTIALCONSEQUENCES | 21 | With 44-, 63-, 77- and 93-Across, a long-winded piece of advice |
| 46% | ITALIAN | 7 | With 55-Across, description of 23-, 36- and 44-Across |
| 46% | ERIC | 4 | With 117-Across, founder of a famous "Reader" |
| 46% | HEF | 3 | Playboy magazine founder's nickname |
| 44% | HIDDEN | 6 | With 38-Across, unpublicized skill found in each set of circles |
| 44% | CRAZY | 5 | With 44-Across, Oglala Lakota leader who helped win the Battle of the Little Bighorn against General Custer |
| 44% | CHUCKD | 6 | Founder of Public Enemy, with Flavor Flav |
| 44% | BABYDADDY | 9 | Founder of Scissor Sisters with Jake Shears |
| 44% | DAILY | 5 | With 72-Across, the end of 20-, 37-, 44- or 59-Across |
| 44% | CHINESE | 7 | With 43-Across, historical period found in each set of circled letters |
| 43% | BARRY | 5 | With 44-Across, "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" soul singer with a colorful name (2 wds.) |
| 43% | MORSE | 5 | With 44-Down, "key" invention of the 1830s |
| 43% | OFMICE | 6 | With 44-Down, biography of Walt Disney? |
| 43% | DRY | 3 | With 44-Down, decay of building timbers |
| 43% | BARRY | 5 | With 32-Across, former baseball star found guilty in 2011 of criminal conduct |
| 43% | PETE | 4 | With 34-Across, former baseball star found guilty in 1990 of criminal conduct |
| 42% | MIDDLE | 6 | With 44-Down, educational stage ... or a hint to the contents of 18-, 22-, 47- and 53-Across |
| 42% | BARCELONA | 9 | With 44-Down, site of the 1992 Olympics |