NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 4, 1997

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

Thursday, December 4, 1997

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 4:34 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, December 4, 1997. 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.

72 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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Wednesday, December 3, 1997

across

1. Kaput: SHOT
5. Poet Teasdale and others: SARAS
10. 1102 on a monument: MCII
14. "Holy ___!": MOLY
15. Nautical direction: APORT
16. Extended period: AEON
17. "I needed it yesterday" abbr.: ASAP
18. South Pacific kingdom: TONGA
19. Aquarium: TANK
20. Domino products: REFINEDSUGARS
23. Mortarboard component: TASSEL
24. More spine-tingling: EERIER
26. Dutch export: TULIPS
29. Paris pomp: ECLAT
31. Back talk: LIP
34. Money put aside, for short: IRA
35. Do dock work: STEEVE
36. Suppositions: EDUCATEDGUESSES
40. Washington V.I.P.: ALGORE
41. Poke fun at: RIB
42. It'll get you there P.D.Q.: SST
43. Artist Toulouse-Lautrec: HENRI
44. Headlands: NESSES
47. "You don't think I'd do it, do you?": DAREME
49. They may be found in midstream: ISLETS
53. Part of a string: CULTUREDPEARL
56. "Get a ___!": GRIP
58. Teheran native: IRANI
59. Decorative case: ETUI
60. "Seven Years in Tibet" star: PITT
61. Florentine literary giant: DANTE
62. 40-Across, informally: VEEP
63. Tan and Irving: AMYS
64. Choir section: ALTOS
65. Wraps up: ENDS

down

1. Kind of cookie: SMART
2. Book of prophecies: HOSEA
3. Five Norwegian kings: OLAFS
4. Key employee?: TYPIST
5. Surveilling need: SATELLITE
6. "...peas in ___": APOD
7. Howard and Brown: RONS
8. Has words (with): ARGUES
9. Old transport: STAGE
10. Number arrays: MATRICES
11. Nonstop: CEASELESS
12. Charged item: ION
13. It's kept in a pen: INK
21. Opposite of alt: NEU
22. Mountain ridge: ARETE
25. Thumbs-up reviews: RAVES
27. Tee off: IRE
28. San Diego player: PADRE
30. Midterm, say: TEST
31. Wife of Jacob: LEAH
32. Twiddled one's thumbs: IDLED
33. Belligerence: PUGNACITY
35. Grants: SUBSIDIES
37. Succeeds in bribing: CORRUPTS
38. Israel's Sharon: ARIEL
39. Dogfaces: GIS
44. Kind of network: NEURAL
45. Particularly: Abbr.: ESP
46. Record jacket: SLEEVE
48. Abode of the gods, in Homer: MTIDA
50. Consumed: EATEN
51. Set straight: TRUED
52. Boo-boos: SLIPS
54. Go on: RANT
55. Prefix with -zoan: ENTO
56. 3.9, e.g.: GPA
57. Pacific ___: RIM

Hints and full breakdown for Dec 3

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.