| 100% | HOLLYWOOD | 9 | With 61-Across, 1987 Robert Townsend satire ... or a hint to deciphering four clues in this puzzle |
| 51% | READMUSIC | 9 | Follow a composer's notation ... or a hint to interpreting four clues in this puzzle |
| 50% | FIRST | 5 | With 5-Across, baby's milestone ... or a hint to the hidden layer in this puzzle's Across clues |
| 50% | SOUNDMIXING | 11 | Academy Awards category eliminated in 2021 ... or a hint to interpreting four clues in this puzzle |
| 48% | DIVEBAR | 7 | Seedy hangout ... or a hint to finishing four Across answers in this puzzle |
| 48% | NBA | 3 | With 39-Across, classic sports video game ... or a hint to four squares in this puzzle |
| 47% | ONEUP | 5 | Outdo ... or a hint to entering four answers in this puzzle |
| 47% | TURNKEYS | 8 | Jailers ... or a hint to "unlocking" four answers in this puzzle |
| 47% | SHORT | 5 | With 39-Across, some Sundance submissions … or a hint to four squares in this puzzle |
| 46% | RINGOFFIRE | 10 | 17-Across hit ... or a hint to four connected answers in this puzzle |
| 46% | THINK | 5 | With 61-Across, carefully consider ... or a clue to this puzzle's theme |
| 46% | DOUBLECROSS | 11 | Betray ... or a hint to four answers in this puzzle |
| 46% | RAISETHEBAR | 11 | Heighten expectations, say ... or a hint to entering four answers in this puzzle |
| 46% | CABLEBOXES | 10 | TV adjuncts ... or a hint to four squares in this puzzle |
| 46% | CHECKPOINTS | 11 | Border stops ... or a hint to four squares in this puzzle |
| 46% | POPUPAD | 7 | Internet nuisance ... or a hint to four answers in this puzzle |
| 46% | BLACKHAT | 8 | Western villain ... or a hint to four answers in this puzzle |
| 46% | WATCHYOURSTEP | 13 | "Tread carefully!" ... or a hint to four dangers in this puzzle |
| 45% | LOVEHATERELATIONSHIPS | 21 | They involve mixed feelings ... or a hint to four squares in this completed puzzle |
| 45% | MINDOVERMATTER | 14 | Slogan about willpower ... or a hint to four pairs of answers in this puzzle |
| 45% | THEBABYISASLEEP | 15 | New parent's whispered admonition … or a hint to four squares in this puzzle |
| 45% | DARKARTS | 8 | What sorcerers practice ... or a hint to interpreting five clues in this puzzle |
| 45% | IMPULSE | 7 | With 63-Across, Freudian concept of resisting temptation ... or a hint to four squares in this puzzle |
| 45% | BLACKFRIDAY | 11 | Time of annual madness ... or a hint to four squares in this puzzle |
| 45% | CROSSROADS | 10 | 1969 Cream hit ... or a hint to the seven "mathematical" clues in this puzzle |
| 45% | ENDSUPONTOP | 11 | Prevails eventually … or a hint to entering the answers to the six starred clues in this puzzle |
| 45% | GRECOROMAN | 10 | Kind of wrestling ... or a hint to four pairs of crossing answers in this puzzle |
| 44% | RIGHTONR | 8 | Legal maneuver ... with a hint to answering seven clues in this puzzle |
| 44% | UNDERSEALAB | 11 | Aquanaut's workplace ... or a hint to what's graphically represented four times in this puzzle |
| 44% | COVERALLTHEBASES | 16 | Take care of everything … or a hint to what four squares in this puzzle do |