NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 27, 1998
Sunday, December 27, 1998
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, December 27, 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
- 5
- 20
- 36
- 53
- 57
- 60
- 62
- 102
- 116
- 117
- 122
- 123
- 124
- 125
Down clues & answers
- 1
- 12
- 15
- 39
- 40
- 42
- 61
- 80
- 81
- 86
- 93
- 105
- 108
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, December 26, 1998
across
- 1. "Steele Justice" actress: SELAWARD
- 9. "From the Terrace" author and family: OHARAS
- 15. Firebrand: AGITATOR
- 16. Travel by aeroplano: VOLARE
- 17. Avalon's locale: CATALINA
- 18. Flying high: ELATED
- 19. Arms race abbr.: SDI
- 20. Display case: ETAGERE
- 22. Like Handel's Suite No. 5: INE
- 23. Blather: GAS
- 25. Hit high into the air: LOFT
- 26. Take off: SOAR
- 27. Luxurious resorts: SPAS
- 29. Duke University locale: DURHAM
- 31. Powerhouses: TITANS
- 34. Diamondback: TERRAPIN
- 38. Atmospheric pressure measurer: ANEROID
- 40. "Growing Young" author Ashley: MONTAGU
- 41. Ended: RESULTED
- 43. Hosed down: WETTED
- 44. Capital on the Tagus estuary: LISBON
- 46. Kin of -ule: ETTE
- 47. Destroyer destroyer: MINE
- 50. Kind of steak: TUNA
- 51. Inflation ender: ARY
- 52. Incense: IRE
- 53. Like some cameras nowadays: DIGITAL
- 55. Something to chew over: CUD
- 58. Gunpowder holder: TEABAG
- 60. ___ Republic: MALAGASY
- 62. Better: ENRICH
- 63. Complete: UNBROKEN
- 64. Any stanza in Burns's "To a Mouse": SESTET
- 65. Steer out of control?: STAMPEDE
down
- 1. Alveoli: SACS
- 2. "Holy Toledo!": EGAD
- 3. Contests at the bar?: LITIGATES
- 4. ___ loss: ATA
- 5. Where the Wye River rises: WALES
- 6. Bickering: ATIT
- 7. First name in clowns: RONALD
- 8. Prolong: DRAGOUT
- 9. Make a baseball boo-boo: OVERTHROW
- 10. Flag location: HOLE
- 11. ___ mort (dispirited): ALA
- 12. I.Q., e.g.: RATIO
- 13. "The Lady or the Tiger?" setting: ARENA
- 14. When haroseth is eaten: SEDER
- 21. Conductor Kurtz: EFREM
- 24. Most of the time: ASARULE
- 26. Speak with spotty knowledge: SMATTER
- 27. General acquisition: STAR
- 28. Emulate Echo: PINE
- 30. "Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind" composer: ARNE
- 32. Do not, in old Rome: NOLI
- 33. Waits and sees: SITSTIGHT
- 35. Rhyme that's done by hand?: PATTYCAKE
- 36. Belinda Carlisle's "___ Weak": IGET
- 37. Hosiery shade: NUDE
- 39. Correct code: DEBUG
- 42. Popular radio personality: DONIMUS
- 45. Floating: NATANT
- 47. Backbiters: MITES
- 48. "The Woman," to Sherlock: IRENE
- 49. Gets in range of: NEARS
- 51. It may be false: ALARM
- 53. Bait fish: DACE
- 54. Goya's "The Duchess of ___": ALBA
- 56. Worn: USED
- 57. Centimeter-gram-second unit: DYNE
- 59. Shtick: BIT
- 61. Elephant group: GOP
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.