NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for June 12, 1998
Friday, June 12, 1998
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, June 12, 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.
Across clues & answers
- 27
- 50
Down clues & answers
- 35
- 53
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, June 11, 1998
across
- 1. Poly-sci subjects: ISMS
- 5. Overshadow: DWARF
- 10. Costner's role in "The Untouchables": NESS
- 14. Skip: OMIT
- 15. Symbol of thinness: WAFER
- 16. Like some singing: ALTO
- 17. Six-foot vis-à-vis five-foot: TALLER
- 18. Administer: ENFORCE
- 19. Beside oneself?: CLONED
- 20. Beset: ASSAILED
- 22. Exit: EGRESS
- 24. Big name in gyms: GOLDS
- 25. Expensive eggs?: ROE
- 26. A growing concern?: FUNGUS
- 29. Give a hand: AID
- 30. Operate: ACT
- 33. End of a list of names: ETAL
- 34. Botch: MISDO
- 36. War stat.: MIA
- 37. Group with a hint to this puzzle's theme: THREEMUSKETEERS
- 41. Middling mark: CEE
- 42. Acclaim: KUDOS
- 43. Make out: NECK
- 44. Abbr. in a marathon time: HRS
- 45. "When ___ Love" (Van Halen hit): ITS
- 46. French books: LIVRES
- 48. Cable inits.: TNT
- 49. Thrill: ELATE
- 51. Dummy: STOOGE
- 54. Flying body?: FUSELAGE
- 58. Lincolnesque: HONEST
- 59. Familiar political promises: REFORMS
- 61. Aloud: ORALLY
- 62. Comic Johnson: ARTE
- 63. First name in beauty: ESTEE
- 64. Squint (at): PEER
- 65. Site of a W.W. I Allied victory: YSER
- 66. They have bar signs: RESTS
- 67. "Smooth Operator" chanteuse: SADE
down
- 1. Scintilla: IOTA
- 2. Shirt sizes: SMALLS
- 3. Architect ___ van der Rohe: MIES
- 4. Opposite of lead: STRAGGLE
- 5. Lives: DWELLS
- 6. Dwindled: WANED
- 7. Provides: AFFORDS
- 8. Boombox button abbr.: REC
- 9. Something for nothing: FREERIDE
- 10. Bead material: NACRE
- 11. Woman of Paris: ELLE
- 12. Things on rings: STONES
- 13. Covers the earth: SODS
- 21. Marker: IOU
- 23. Noted object of a wait: GODOT
- 26. Order to Fido: FETCH
- 27. King Arthur's father: UTHER
- 28. Nostrils: NARES
- 29. Shows curiosity: ASKS
- 30. Mideast chief: AMEER
- 31. Lurer of sailors, in myth: CIRCE
- 32. Assignments: TASKS
- 34. Mucks: MUDS
- 35. Prefix with thermal: ISO
- 38. Making (out): EKING
- 39. One who can hardly be made out: MUTTERER
- 40. Wraps up: ENVELOPS
- 46. Sweethearts: LASSES
- 47. Suffix in rock names: ITE
- 48. Bellhop, at times: TOTER
- 49. Attempts: EFFORTS
- 50. Director Sidney: LUMET
- 51. Old-fashioned conveyance: SHAY
- 52. Xerox products: TONERS
- 53. Bone: Prefix: OSTE
- 55. Specialty, so to speak: AREA
- 56. Vexed: GALLED
- 57. Jane who stayed at Thornfield: EYRE
- 60. Vane dir.: ESE
More daily puzzle hints
- WordleGuess the five-letter word in six triesGuide & tips
- ConnectionsSort 16 words into four hidden groupsGuide & tips
- StrandsFind the themed words hidden in a letter gridGuide & tips
- Spelling BeeMake words from seven letters around a center letterGuide & tips
- Mini CrosswordA bite-size crossword you can finish over coffeeGuide & tips
- Connections: Sports EditionConnections with a sports-only word poolGuide & tips
- Letter BoxedChain words around a square using all 12 lettersGuide & tips
- Midi CrosswordThe mid-size crossword between the Mini and the dailyGuide & tips
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.