02.29.12 — Broadway

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 — Leap Year

Puzzle by Kevan Choset / Edited by Will Shortz

Five standard phrases each beginning with a one-word title of a Broadway play constitute the interrelated group of this entertaining Wednesday crossword:

RENT CONTROL (17A. Security desk at a Broadway theater?)
GREASE MONKEY (23A. Simian on a Broadway set?)
HAIR REPLACEMENT (37A. Understudy in a Broadway show?)
CHICAGO BEARS (48A. Pessimistic Broadway investors?)
CATS PAJAMAS (59A. Nighttime Broadway wardrobe?)

Other — AGASSI, ANCIEN régime, AP TEST, DA BOMB (64A. It’s awesome), MASADA (46D. Siege site of A.D. 72), MT OSSA, OSCARS, PAVLOV (1A. Noted handler of dogs), TRICK KNEE (11D. Bad conditions for playing hoops, say), TROJAN horse, TWIN CITIES (28D. Minneapolis/St. Paul), VIOLET.

Five-letter — ALEUT, AMASS, BUSES, CHOMP, ERNST & Young, Bret HARTE, HAVOC, ORTHO, Renee RUSSO, SEEPY, TITUS, VALUE.

Short stuff — AAHS, ABC, ACH (45A. Rhine whine?), AER Lingus, AGES, AMOI, AOL, “AS I made clear …”, “Even AS WE speak …“, CARA, CHE, D-CUP, DNA, EGO, EMAG, EPA, EROS, ESP and ESS (20A. Starts at either end?), GEER, HATH, HE HE, HEIR, IAGO, ILE de France, “Last one IN IS a rotten egg!“, ISAK Dinesen, ISBN, LST, MOE, MHOS, MISC, NAS, NEA, NIX, OSTE, OVI, PARE, PCS, PSAT, RAE, RARA avis, RLS, STN, THEA (7A. Mother of Helios), TVS, VANS, XTRA.

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Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.

Remaining clues — ACROSS: 11. Tubes; 14. Sports star who wrote 2009’s “OIpen: An Autobiography”; 15. Whom Othello declares “is most honest”; 16. Actress Charlotte; 21. Certain Alaskan); 22. Large bra feature; 26. Challenge for a H.S. honor student; 29. Author Dinesen; 31. ___ & Young (accounting firm); 34 Cancel; 41. Place with a waiting room: Abbr.; 42. Gather; 43. Son or grandson, say; 44. Italian beloved; 46. Greek peak SE of Olympus; 53. Owns, in the Bible; 54. Actress Rene; 58. Egg: Prefix; 62. “The Simpsons” character who says “Oh geez” a lot; 63. [Giggle]; 65. Mac alternatives; 66. Love god; 67. ___ régime (pre-1789 French government). — DOWN: 1. Whittle (down); 2. A long, long time; 3. Plumbers’ wheels; 4. D-Day craft, for short; 5. Walt Disney had 26 of them; 6. Color akin to plum; 7. Emperor who completed the Colosseum; 8. Author Bret; 9. A star can have a huge one; 10. CD mailer of the early 2000s; 12. Care about; 13. Running slowly; 18. “Sesame Street” supporter, in brief; 22. Strands in a cell?; 23. Will of “The Waltons”; 24. Odds and ends: Abbr.; 25. Bone: Prefix; 26. Circus cries; 27. Natl. Merit Scholarship qualifying exam; 31. Green org.; 32. Literary inits.; 33. “Stillmatic” rapper; 36. More, in adspeak; 39. Slate, e.g.; 40. Conductance units; 48. Bite; 49. Rack and ruin; 50. Prefix with -pedic; 51. M.T.A. fleet; 52. Subj. of a space-to-Earth experiment on Apollo 14; 55. Mine, in Amiens; 56. “Me, too”; 57. Library ID; 59. Tony-winning role for Mandy Patinkin; 61. “Desperate Housewives” network.