| 100% | COLD | 4 | With 44-Down, conflict between 7-Down and the 34-Down |
| 50% | SARGASSO | 8 | With 11-Down, area between the Azores and the Caribbean |
| 45% | CIVILWAR | 8 | Conflict between the Confederate and Union armies: 2 wds. |
| 45% | CLASSWAR | 8 | Theoretical conflict between the rich and poor |
| 44% | REGINABELLE | 11 | "Baby Come to Me" singer who collaborated with 44-Across on the R&B hits "Without You" and 34-Across (2 wds.) |
| 43% | MIDDLE | 6 | With 44-Down, educational stage ... or a hint to the contents of 18-, 22-, 47- and 53-Across |
| 42% | SAINT | 5 | With 79 Down, canonized Norwegian king and the namesake of a Minnesota college |
| 42% | FINISH | 6 | With 44-Down, go out with a bang ... or a hint to 16-, 21-, 29-, 34-, 46- and 54-Across |
| 42% | SOLENT | 6 | Channel between mainland England and the Isle of Wight, with "the" |
| 41% | ADDUPTOFIFTEEN | 14 | With 98-Across, 34-Down and 48-Down, what each line in the center square should do |
| 41% | HARDIILOVE | 10 | 2016 34-Down studio album with the hit singles "Rivals" and "No Limit" (3 wds.) |
| 41% | NEWRY | 5 | City in Northern Ireland on the border between County Down and County Armagh |
| 41% | ACUTABOVE | 9 | Superior to ... and what can go with the starts of 3-, 7-, 9- and 24-Down |
| 41% | STRAIGHTEDGES | 13 | Rulers, e.g. ... or what the letters in 3-, 7-, 27- and 34-Down all have |
| 41% | OPIUM | 5 | Drug at the center of two 19th-century conflicts between Western forces and China |
| 40% | BARCELONA | 9 | With 44-Down, site of the 1992 Olympics |
| 40% | SANTA | 5 | With 44-Across, Eartha Kitt Christmas song with the line, "Hurry down the chimney tonight" |
| 40% | BON | 3 | With 44-Across, band with the #1 hits "Bad Medicine" and "Livin' on a Prayer" |
| 40% | DEBT | 4 | With 11 Down, much-debated political limit ... and what the puzzle's circled squares compose? |
| 40% | WEALD | 5 | The —, region of SE England between the North Downs and the South Downs |
| 40% | WEALD | 5 | The —, region of southeast England between the North Downs and the South Downs |
| 40% | WEALD | 5 | The —, region of southeast England between the North and South Downs |
| 40% | CHIEFJUSTICE | 12 | With 39 and 44 Across, the most major magistrate |
| 40% | MYWAY | 5 | 1997 34-Down studio album with the hit singles "Nice & Slow" and "You Make Me Wanna ... " (2 wds.) |
| 40% | COMINGHOME | 10 | 2024 34-Down studio album with the hit singles "Good Good" and "Standing Next to You" (2 wds.) |
| 40% | HEREISTAND | 10 | 2008 34-Down studio album with the hit singles "Love in This Club" and "Trading Places" (3 wds.) |
| 39% | CNET | 4 | Tech website whose title is stylized with a vertical line between the first and second letters |
| 39% | WILLY | 5 | With 34-Across, colorful character in Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" |
| 39% | SOLENT | 6 | Strait between the British mainland and the Isle of Wight, with “the” |
| 39% | MORSE | 5 | With 44-Down, "key" invention of the 1830s |