NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 18, 1996

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Thursday, January 18, 1996

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 4:46 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, January 18, 1996. The daily crossword is the classic: a 15×15 grid on weekdays and a larger Sunday puzzle, with difficulty rising from a gentle Monday to a fiendish Saturday. Hints come first and the solution stays hidden until you ask for it.

70 clues · jump to Across or Down. Tap a tile for one letter, or Answer for the whole word.

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.

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Previous The Crossword answer

Wednesday, January 17, 1996

across

1. Great guy?: SCOTT
6. Boston bunch: POPS
10. Political suffix since the 70's: GATE
14. Comfortable: CUSHY
15. At capacity: FULL
16. Soprano Mills: ERIE
17. None of the above: OTHER
18. Jovial roly-poly of legend: FRIARTUCK
20. Exhaust: WEAROUT
22. Squirrel treats: ACORNS
23. Actress Reinking: ANN
24. Shin's neighbor: ANKLE
25. Debut auto of 1960: DODGEDART
29. Catch, as a dogie: LASSO
33. "That's clear": ISEE
34. Devilkin: IMP
35. Last-place spot: CELLAR
36. Turn on the waterworks, so to speak: SOB
37. Galilee, e.g.: SEA
38. Christmas need: FIR
39. Verse heading: UNI
40. Nuggets: CLUMPS
42. He feeds 54-Down: JON
43. Dole (out): METE
44. George of "Where's Poppa?": SEGAL
45. "The Best Man" playwright: GOREVIDAL
47. Crusoe's creator: DEFOE
49. Friday, for one: MAN
50. Bind one's boots: LACEUP
52. Alternative fuel: GASOHOL
56. Pussyfoot: HEMANDHAW
58. Decline: SLIDE
59. Insolent tad: SNIP
60. An Autry: GENE
61. Entrance courts: ATRIA
62. Heave: TOSS
63. Davis of TV's "Sinbad": ERIN
64. Like most movies: RATED

down

1. Cargo vessel: SCOW
2. Baby-faced: CUTE
3. Labor Dept. arm: OSHA
4. Very in: THERAGE
5. Guthrie of the theater: TYRONE
6. Fizzling sound: PFFT
7. "___ Town": OUR
8. Easily bent: PLIANT
9. Lax: SLACK
10. "C'mon, quit kidding": GETREAL
11. Give ___ for one's money: ARUN
12. Muscle spasms: TICS
13. Cartoon cry: EEK
19. Kind of derby: ROLLER
21. These can be brief: UNDIES
24. Dadaist Hans: ARP
25. Harrow blades: DISCS
26. "___ Mio": OSOLE
27. Correct the defects in: DEBUG
28. Org. for Doogie Howser: AMA
30. Swung around: SLUED
31. ___ Maria: SANTA
32. Bay window: ORIEL
35. ___ verite: CINEMA
37. Bad temper: SPLEEN
38. In place of: FOR
41. Daredevils: MADCAPS
42. Typical guy: JOE
43. Canon competitor: MINOLTA
45. Its tunnel vision is poor: GOPHER
46. Alma mater of Meryl Streep: VASSAR
48. "Oh, darn!": FUDGE
50. Jay of note: LENO
51. Francois's friends: AMIS
52. Lola player in "Damn Yankees": GWEN
53. "Cotton Candy" trumpeter: HIRT
54. Comics canine: ODIE
55. Be the bellwether: LEAD
56. F.D.R. follower: HST
57. Cuckoo bird: ANI

Hints and full breakdown for Jan 17

More daily puzzle hints

How the week is built

Monday and Tuesday: straightforward definitions and familiar answers. These are the best days to learn.
Wednesday: a step up, often with a playful theme.
Thursday: the trick day, with rebus squares (several letters in one square) and answers that turn corners or skip squares.
Friday and Saturday: themeless and tough, with sly clues and long open sections.
Sunday: a bigger 21×21 grid with a theme, about as hard as a Wednesday or Thursday.

Crossword-solving habits worth building

Learn the common fill. Short vowel-heavy words such as ERA, OREO, ALOE and ETNA appear constantly because they help constructors connect sections.
Read clue signals. "?" means wordplay, "Abbr." means an abbreviation, "e.g." means an example of a category, and a foreign word in the clue hints at a foreign answer.
Find the theme. The longest answers usually share a gimmick; the title (on Sundays) or a "revealer" clue explains it.
Erase without fear. When crossings don't work, the wrong letter is usually in the answer you were most confident about.
Use targeted help. Reveal one letter here, or try our crossword solver with a pattern like ?R?S?.

The Crossword FAQ

When is the next crossword released?

Weekday puzzles go live at 10 p.m. Eastern Time the night before; weekend puzzles are released earlier in the evening.

What is a rebus square?

A square that holds more than one letter. Sometimes it holds a whole word or a symbol. They are most common on Thursdays.

Which day is the hardest?

Saturday is generally the hardest, followed by Friday. Sunday is larger but closer to midweek difficulty.

Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive.