| 100% | NEW | 3 | With 65- and 66-Across, when to sing the song in the circled squares |
| 51% | BREAK | 5 | With 65-Across, go against the group ... or what the circled squares literally do in the answers to the starred clues |
| 48% | WHATIMPLEMENT | 13 | With 28-, 48- and 56-Across, riddle whose answer appears in the circled squares |
| 48% | CHEESE | 6 | With 45-Across, savory topping found in tubs ... and the circled squares? |
| 46% | TWORHYMINGWORDS | 15 | With 27-, 39-, 46- and 62-Across, a brain teaser, whose answer appears in the circled squares |
| 46% | INASCRABBLEGAME | 15 | With 30- and 49-Across, test question to be answered by filling in the correct circle |
| 46% | BUTTERFLY | 9 | Word that must be added to 1-, 8-, 65- and 66-Across for their clues to make sense [with a visual hint in the grid] |
| 45% | GREAT | 5 | With 27-, 49- and 66-Across, phrase applicable to five innovations in this puzzle (as suggested by the starred clues) |
| 44% | THOMAS | 6 | With 65 Across, the first to see his name ''up in lights'' (1881) |
| 44% | SPLIT | 5 | With 65-Across, chore on a winter to-do list ... and what appears in each set of circles |
| 44% | SORT | 4 | Categorize ... and, when read differently, the letters that can go in the circled squares |
| 44% | PORE | 4 | Skin feature … and a clue to the circled square in this row |
| 44% | TOP | 3 | With 66-Across, place on a keyboard to find all the letters in 16-, 28-, 46- and 60-Across |
| 43% | SORT | 4 | Word processing function … and a clue to the circled square in this row |
| 43% | HORA | 4 | Jewish wedding staple … and a clue to the circled square in this row |
| 43% | CAPTAIN | 7 | With 37-Across, title for the hidden individuals in 16-, 23-, 46-, and 58-Across, thanks to the circles in each answer? |
| 43% | WHATA | 5 | With 15 and 20 Across, a 1967 song sung by Louis Armstrong in "Good Morning, Vietnam" |
| 43% | OTANNENBAUM | 11 | Seasonal song with a hint to the last words in 17-, 25-, 37- and 45-Across |
| 43% | MORN | 4 | Poetic time of day … and a clue to the circled square in this row |
| 42% | IDIOM | 5 | Figure of speech ... and a synonym of the puzzle's alternate title, spelled left to right in the circled squares |
| 42% | DOUBLEORNOTHING | 15 | Risky wager ... with a hint to the letters in this puzzle's circled squares |
| 42% | DEFYING | 7 | With 48-Across, song sung by Elphaba in the musical "Wicked" |
| 41% | WEST | 4 | With 56-Across and 57-Across, Pet Shop Boys #1 song with the lyrics "In every city, in every nation / From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station" |
| 41% | THE | 3 | With 63- and 64-Across, privileged info, and a hint to the circled letters |
| 41% | ENDOW | 5 | Furnish with funds, and when parsed differently, a double feature of the answers to 18-, 26-, 41-, 53-, and 65-Across |
| 40% | FITZGERALD | 10 | Vocalist known for the 1944 song whose title (and first line) appears in the circled squares |
| 40% | FIFTH | 5 | With 45-Down, subversive groups ... or what the answers in the circled squares comprise? |
| 40% | CORNERSTORE | 11 | Local convenience ... or a hint to the words in the circled squares |
| 40% | TITLE | 5 | With 66-Across, images played in silent films, and what one might use to play the games in the first parts of the answers to the starred clues? |
| 40% | SPIRAL | 6 | When preceded by [the circled letters], natural shape said to be seen in 61-Across and 27-Down |