| 100% | TEST | 4 | Word with stress, or a common source of stress |
| 55% | SPAN | 4 | Word with "life" or "attention" to mean a duration of time |
| 54% | BEER | 4 | Source of a buzz … with or without its last letter? |
| 54% | HAIL | 4 | Word of praise or a weather condition with ice pellets |
| 52% | ACHE | 4 | Word with "stomach" or "head," used as a common excuse to not go to school |
| 52% | ACCENT | 6 | Stress of emphasis placed on a word or syllable |
| 51% | THERESNOTWO | 11 | With 64-Across, words of certainty ... or a hint to 23-, 40- and 56-Across |
| 50% | MINUTE | 6 | Word that's either a unit of time or an adjective, depending on which syllable you stress |
| 50% | BERRY | 5 | Word with "Smurf" to mean a red fruit that is a source of nutrition for the Smurfs |
| 49% | CROSSBREEDS | 11 | Animals with parents of two distinct varieties ... or a description of the pairs of shaded words? |
| 49% | MAN | 3 | Word with best or common |
| 49% | SENSE | 5 | Word with common or horse |
| 49% | SENSE | 5 | Word with common or good |
| 49% | OPEN | 4 | Word with secret or source |
| 49% | GRE | 3 | Source of stress for a sr. |
| 48% | LEGEND | 6 | Folklore tale, or word that starts with the name of a walking limb |
| 48% | BIRDS | 5 | *Feathered friends ... or a word used with 22d to refer to a child-friendly explanation of human reproduction |
| 48% | GRE | 3 | Source of stress for a coll. senior |
| 48% | EMAILS | 6 | Source of stress for a returning vacationer |
| 47% | PINA | 4 | Word with Bausch or, with a tilde, colada |
| 47% | NATURE | 6 | Word with "second" or "laws of" |
| 47% | WHYS | 4 | Common words at the start of a lot of sentences that my four year old comes out with |
| 47% | ALL | 3 | Word with "first of" or "best of" |
| 46% | NUT | 3 | Source of a common allergy |
| 46% | SKIPPING | 8 | With 59-Across, lakeside activity ... or a hint to the words spelled across the fifth, eighth and 11th rows of the completed grid |
| 46% | SUITE | 5 | Word with "presidential" or "bridal," in a hotel |
| 46% | AXE | 3 | Word after fire ... or a synonym of fire |
| 46% | BRAINSTORM | 10 | Session with a volley of ideas, or word that starts with the body's grey matter part |
| 46% | EMPHASIS | 8 | Stress on a word or syllable |
| 46% | TEST | 4 | Common subject of a stress dream |