Skip to content
ZWordFinderZ

NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 22, 1998

Thursday, January 22, 1998

By Last updated How we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, January 22, 1998. 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.

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

Across clues & answers

  1. 14
  2. 17

    ___

  3. 21
  4. 23

    Gofer

  5. 25

    ___

  6. 29

    Shrouded

  7. 38

    Bomb

  8. 39
  9. 40

    Playing

  10. 42

    ___

  11. 44

    Curse

  12. 50

    Bustle

  13. 58

    Lifelike

  14. 59
  15. 61

    Poop

Down clues & answers

  1. 8

    Blunder

  2. 10

    Accustom

  3. 12
  4. 13
  5. 24

    Baker

  6. 25

    Bakers

  7. 31
  8. 37

    Relax

  9. 40

    Absorbent

  10. 44

    Boatyard

  11. 51

    Heedless

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

WhatsAppXReddit

Previous The Crossword answer

Wednesday, January 21, 1998

across

  • 1. Wacky: DAFT
  • 5. Take home, after taxes: CLEAR
  • 10. Summit: ACME
  • 14. Lay down the law: RULE
  • 15. Repeated parrot's word: HELLO
  • 16. Gunks: GOOS
  • 17. Vitamin supplement: IRON
  • 18. Once more: AGAIN
  • 19. Puddinglike serving: GLOP
  • 20. Arts supporter: FORDFOUNDATION
  • 23. Prefix with -mester: TRI
  • 24. Doctrine: ISM
  • 25. Brink: VERGE
  • 27. Leader involved in 70's shuttle diplomacy: SADAT
  • 29. ___ Park: ESTES
  • 33. Cordon bleu's phrase: ALA
  • 34. Bomb at a comedy club: DIE
  • 36. F.E.C. concern: PAC
  • 37. Repute: ODOR
  • 38. Al Jolson classic: MEANDMYSHADOW
  • 42. Typist's purchase: REAM
  • 43. "Am ___ blame?": ITO
  • 44. Dig it!: ORE
  • 45. New Deal fig.: FDR
  • 46. Wranglers, e.g.: JEANS
  • 48. Yanks' allies in W.W. II: BRITS
  • 52. Tough-talking coach: DITKA
  • 54. "From ___ to Mozart" (1980 film): MAO
  • 56. "Vamoose!": GIT
  • 57. Parisian hot spot: THEMOULINROUGE
  • 62. "If I ___ hammer...": HADA
  • 63. Didn't just pronounce: SPELT
  • 64. Pottery: WARE
  • 65. 11-Down, e.g., to Henri: ETAT
  • 66. Colorings: TONES
  • 67. Oklahoma city: ENID
  • 68. Attention-getters: HEYS
  • 69. Contest submission: ENTRY
  • 70. Lip: SASS

down

  • 1. Results of blizzards: DRIFTS
  • 2. Light show: AURORA
  • 3. Highly embellished: FLORID
  • 4. Guard: TEND
  • 5. Jumble: CHAOS
  • 6. Fiber source: LEGUME
  • 7. Verve: ELAN
  • 8. "Put ___ on it!": ALID
  • 9. Gossipy Barrett: RONA
  • 10. Texas college athlete: AGGIE
  • 11. Middle of the Rockies: COLORADO
  • 12. Benny Goodman #1 hit: MOONGLOW
  • 13. Particularly: Abbr.: ESP
  • 21. Conform: FITIN
  • 22. Some RCA's: TVS
  • 26. Ring spot: EAR
  • 28. Not know from ___: ADAM
  • 30. Secretly watch: SPYON
  • 31. Profs' helpers: TAS
  • 32. Reiterate: ECHO
  • 35. 60's cigar pitchwoman Adams: EDIE
  • 37. European boundary river: ODER
  • 38. Do Zen: MEDITATE
  • 39. April celebration: EARTHDAY
  • 40. 1959 Kingston Trio hit: MTA
  • 41. Pergola: ARBOR
  • 42. Letter letters: RFD
  • 46. Gridlock: JAM
  • 47. Cheshire Cat, notably: SMILER
  • 49. Galápagos creature: IGUANA
  • 50. Nineveh's locale: TIGRIS
  • 51. Mounts: STEEDS
  • 53. "Ode to Psyche" poet: KEATS
  • 55. Not settled: ANTSY
  • 58. Bone: Prefix: OSTE
  • 59. ___ reflection: UPON
  • 60. Solemn time: LENT
  • 61. Has a mortgage: OWES
  • 62. Beavis and Butt-head sound: HEH
Hints and full breakdown for Jan 21

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.