| Soften, often | 13 |
| React to mold, perhaps | 22 |
| Prepare to be eaten | 19 |
| Grow to maturity | 16 |
| Go from green to red, say | 25 |
| Go from green to red, perhaps | 29 |
| Get sweeter, say | 16 |
| Get sweeter | 11 |
| Get softer and sweeter, perhaps | 31 |
| Get ready for the apple store, perhaps? | 39 |
| Get fully ready | 15 |
| Gain maturity | 13 |
| Come to maturity | 16 |
| Come of age? | 12 |
| Bring to maturity, on the vine | 30 |
| Bring to a peak | 15 |
| Become ready to reap | 20 |
| Become ready | 12 |
| Become more tasty | 17 |
| Approach harvestability | 23 |
| Age or cure | 11 |
| Achieve peak flavor | 19 |
| Matured, as fruit | 17 |
| Changed from green to red | 25 |
| Turned red, perhaps | 19 |
| Reached the plucking point | 26 |
| Improved through aging | 22 |
| Got sweeter | 11 |
| Got edible, say | 15 |
| Changed from green to red, maybe | 32 |
| Came along nicely | 17 |
| Became ready to pick | 20 |
| Became edible | 13 |
| Aging agent | 11 |
| Something that hastens maturity | 31 |
| Fruit additive | 14 |
| Ethylene, to fruit | 18 |
| Ethylene, in agriculture | 24 |
| Ethylene, for bananas | 21 |
| Ethylene gas, agriculturally | 28 |
| Agent of maturation | 19 |
| Nears the harvesting stage | 26 |
| Becomes ready to harvest | 24 |
| Ages, as cheese | 15 |
| Comes to maturity | 17 |
| Cures, as cheese | 16 |
| Comes to fruition | 17 |
| Changes color, maybe | 20 |
| Becomes ready for plucking | 26 |
| Becomes mature | 14 |
| Becomes less green | 18 |
| Attains maturity | 16 |
| Approaches perfection | 21 |
| Approaches maturity | 19 |
| Approaches harvest | 18 |
| Relish-tray tidbit | 18 |
| More suitable for eating, perhaps | 33 |
| Not so green | 12 |
| Less green | 10 |
| More developed | 14 |
| More auspicious | 15 |
| Redder, as a tomato | 19 |
| Not as green | 12 |
| More red, as a tomato | 21 |
| Not so callow | 13 |
| Not as green, maybe | 19 |
| More red, maybe | 15 |
| More mellow | 11 |
| More apt to be picked | 21 |
| Less green, perhaps | 19 |
| Yellower, as a banana | 21 |
| Softer, as a banana | 19 |
| Relatively ready | 16 |
| Redder, perhaps | 15 |
| Readier to pick | 15 |
| Not as green, perhaps | 21 |
| More ready | 10 |
| More fully developed | 20 |
| More fleshy, perhaps | 20 |
| More fit for picking | 20 |
| Like red peppers, vis-Ã -vis green ones | 41 |
| Closer to maturity | 18 |
| Closer to its prime | 19 |
| Closer to fruition | 18 |
| Closer to being harvested | 25 |
| Least green | 11 |
| At the peak of maturity | 23 |
| Most likely to fall from a tree | 31 |
| Nearest to rotten | 17 |
| Most ready for picking | 22 |
| Most pickable | 13 |
| Most opportune | 14 |
| Best for picking | 16 |
| Readiest for picking | 20 |
| Pick of the crop | 16 |
| Most red, maybe | 15 |
| Most ready for plucking | 23 |
| Most ready | 10 |
| Most mellow | 11 |
| Best to pick, say | 17 |