| 100% | WHOLEHOG | 8 | With 49-Across, Southern cooking tradition that can be described by the transformation happening in this puzzle |
| 36% | COIN | 4 | With 55-Down, actions that can be performed nine times in this puzzle without affecting any of the clues? |
| 33% | AMBULANCE | 9 | Vehicle whose sound is imitated by the first three Across entries in this puzzle |
| 32% | TIME | 4 | Word that can be ''framed'' by the longest Across answers |
| 32% | TRICKY | 6 | With 21-, 30-, 49-, 61- and 74-Across, end of a Carrie Bradshaw quote that starts "Men in their 40s are like the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle ..." |
| 32% | WHOKILLED | 9 | With 59-Across, old English nursery rhyme being investigated by the detectives in this puzzle |
| 32% | JULES | 5 | With 49-Across, author of the novel suggested by this puzzle's theme; the movie debuted 10/17/1956 |
| 32% | ALITTLEBIRDIE | 13 | Secret's source ... that can be found four times in this puzzle |
| 32% | SCHMEAR | 7 | Bagel spread that can be spelled with the letters in cream cheese |
| 31% | ELFONTHESHELF | 13 | Oft-hidden holiday toy that can be found four times in this puzzle |
| 31% | YELLOW | 6 | Bright sunny color that is associated with the characters mentioned in this puzzle |
| 31% | FURNITUREASSEMBLY | 17 | Ikea task, and a task that can be applied to the sets of circled letters in this puzzle |
| 31% | AMORE | 5 | Word that can aptly be spelled with the letters in romance |
| 30% | MEH | 3 | Unimpressed expression that can be described by ":|" |
| 30% | LASTLETTERS | 11 | Explanatory information about this puzzle is revealed by reading these in the clues |
| 30% | DOLLAR | 6 | With 88 Across, where the theme goods can be bought these days |
| 29% | PHYSICS | 7 | Science that deals with the phenomenon spelled out by 10 missing letters in this puzzle |
| 29% | TEN | 3 | Number of mispelled words in this puzzle's clues (oh, by the way, watch out for those tricky circled squares!) |
| 29% | ABBR | 4 | Clue hint used four times in this puzzle (but can't be used here because it would give away the answer) |
| 29% | SHARD | 5 | Item that can be described by changing its last letter to a P |
| 28% | JAZZ | 4 | With 68-Across, what the trio in this puzzle's clues is trying to promote |
| 28% | RAMA | 4 | "Rendezvous with ___," 1973 novel by Arthur C. Clarke that is set in the 2130s |
| 28% | SUNTAN | 6 | With 71 Across, what the people in this puzzle need? |
| 28% | DRAGON | 6 | "The Girl with the ___ Tattoo," best-selling novel by Stieg Larsson that was originally written in Swedish |
| 28% | FIVEPOINTEDSTAR | 15 | What can be drawn using the only V's, representing vertices, in this puzzle's grid |
| 28% | SELLERS | 7 | Actor with the line "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" |
| 28% | OBJ | 3 | Anything that can be perceived by the senses, for short |
| 28% | TWINE | 5 | Kitchen ___ (string that can be used in cooking) |
| 28% | VELDS | 5 | Southern African regions that in Australia would be described as areas that are "beyond the black stump" |
| 28% | CLAY | 4 | Material that can be sculpted with the hands |