| 100% | LII | 3 | Shakespeare sonnet that begins "So am I as the rich, whose blessed key" |
| 35% | RICHARDIII | 10 | Shakespeare play that begins "Now is the winter of our discontent" |
| 35% | SHAPEOFYOU | 10 | 51-Across song that begins, "The club isn't the best place to find a lover / So the bar is where I go" (3 wds.) |
| 33% | LOSER | 5 | Beck song that begins "In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey" |
| 31% | OPAL | 4 | Birthstone whose first letter is the same as that of its month |
| 30% | AJA | 3 | Album that begins "In the corner of my eye / I saw you in Rudy's / You were very high" |
| 30% | GYPSY | 5 | Fleetwood Mac hit that begins, “So I’m back to the velvet underground” |
| 30% | ASPEN | 5 | Tree whose leaves are attached by long flattened stalks so that they quiver in the wind |
| 29% | ALICIA | 6 | Singer Keys with the album "As I Am" |
| 29% | CRYIN | 5 | 1993 Aerosmith hit that begins "There was a time / When I was so broken-hearted" |
| 29% | STUPID | 6 | With 40-Across, Lady Gaga hit that begins, "You're the one that I've been waiting for / Gotta quit this crying" |
| 29% | CASABLANCA | 10 | 1942 film that ends with the line “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship” |
| 28% | TAMEIMPALA | 10 | "The Less I Know The Better" band that began as Kevin Parker's solo project: 2 wds. |
| 28% | ASTROS | 6 | Club that began as the Colt .45s |
| 28% | NETS | 4 | Team that began as the New Jersey Americans |
| 28% | TIMEX | 5 | Corporation that began as the Waterbury Clock Company |
| 28% | SPURS | 5 | NBA team that began as the Dallas Chaparrals |
| 28% | COAL | 4 | 31-Across poem that begins, "I / Is the total black, being spoken / From the earth's inside" |
| 27% | PTA | 3 | Org. that began as the National Congress of Mothers |
| 27% | VIOLETHILL | 10 | Coldplay hit song that begins, "Was a long and dark December / From the rooftops I remember" (2 wds.) |
| 27% | OPAL | 4 | Birthstone that begins with the same letter as its month |
| 27% | MYWAY | 5 | Classic song that begins "And now the end is near" |
| 27% | LENORE | 6 | Classic verse that begins "Ah, broken is the golden bowl!" |
| 27% | MYWAY | 5 | Sinatra classic that begins "And now, the end is near" |
| 27% | MYWAY | 5 | Sinatra standard that begins "And now, the end is near" |
| 27% | PANERA | 6 | Bakery chain that began as the Saint Louis Bread Co. |
| 27% | ILSA | 4 | "Kiss me as if it were the last time" speaker |
| 27% | SHREW | 5 | The Taming of the ___ (Shakespeare play that Kiss Me, Kate was based on) |
| 27% | OPAL | 4 | Birthstone that begins with the same letter as its associated month |
| 27% | LETITSNOW | 9 | When tripled, song that begins, "Oh, the weather outside is frightful" |