NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 18, 2000
Monday, December 18, 2000
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, December 18, 2000. 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
- 64
Down clues & answers
- 22
- 51
- 52
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Sunday, December 17, 2000
across
- 1. Mountain cats: PUMAS
- 6. Haitian dictator's nickname: PAPADOC
- 13. Site of thousands of flowers: FLOAT
- 18. Peace in the Mideast?: SHALOM
- 20. United way?: AIRLANE
- 21. Little gander: GLANCE
- 22. Start of a verse about holiday fruitcake: SOMEPEOPLELIKETOICEIT
- 25. 1931 sudser about a washed-up prizefighter: THECHAMP
- 26. Seurat's "___ Baignade": UNE
- 27. Like some pitches: OUTSIDE
- 28. See 95-Down: INS
- 29. Do: PARTY
- 31. Literary monogram: RLS
- 32. Small piano: SPINET
- 36. "A good servant but a bad master": Bacon: MONEY
- 37. 38-Across's milieu: SEA
- 38. Junk, e.g.: SHIP
- 42. Brown bagger: WINO
- 43. Unhappy expression: POUT
- 44. Henley crew: OARS
- 45. Movie theater: CINE
- 46. More about that fruitcake: ANDSOMEPREFERTOHEATIT
- 52. Luau fare: POI
- 53. Cartoon frames: CELS
- 54. Pakistan's chief river: INDUS
- 55. Uninspiring talk: DRONE
- 56. Eminence: STATURE
- 58. Tee-hee: TITTER
- 60. Chic: SWANKY
- 61. Parallel: ALIGNED
- 63. Wasn't paid up at the bar: RANATAB
- 65. Sanction: PERMIT
- 68. Cloisonné coating: ENAMEL
- 70. English class activity: PARSING
- 74. Mosque priests: IMAMS
- 75. Newsreel pioneer Charles: PATHE
- 76. Embellish: GILD
- 77. Coroner's abbr.: DOA
- 78. Yet more about that fruitcake: NOMATTERHOWYOUSLICEIT
- 83. Its playing fields are famous: ETON
- 84. They're black for witches: ARTS
- 85. Oriental au pair: AMAH
- 86. ___ doble (two-step dance): PASO
- 87. Last word of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow": DENY
- 88. Ref's decision: TKO
- 89. Theatrical backdrop: SCRIM
- 91. Paint basecoat: SEALER
- 93. Map abbr.: MTS
- 94. Inclination: SLANT
- 95. Barrett of Pink Floyd: SYD
- 96. Adult's cry in a children's game: ISEEYOU
- 100. Kind of observatory: Abbr.: NAV
- 101. Parts of Middle Earth: KINGDOMS
- 106. Final words about that fruitcake: FEWPEOPLEYEARNTOEATIT
- 110. Mideast millionaires: AMEERS
- 111. Late: OVERDUE
- 112. Kind of inspiration: DIVINE
- 113. Pair on a bike: TIRES
- 114. Bloodshed: CARNAGE
- 115. Makes out: NECKS
down
- 1. "Hey, you": PSST
- 2. Slip acknowledgment: UHOH
- 3. "If He Walked Into My Life" musical: MAME
- 4. Novelist Waugh: ALEC
- 5. She had a choice in literature: SOPHIE
- 6. "Hair" producer, 1967: PAPP
- 7. Be in bed, maybe: AIL
- 8. Grand ___ ("Evangeline" setting): PRE
- 9. Attraction: ALLURE
- 10. Like lacework: DAINTY
- 11. Pleasing to the ear: ONKEY
- 12. So-so mark: CEE
- 13. Emulates the birds and the bees: FLITS
- 14. Mille ___ (Minnesota county): LACS
- 15. "You're the ___ Care For" (1931 hit): ONEI
- 16. Parietal cell secretion: ACID
- 17. Block of Brie?: TETE
- 19. Not accidental: MEANT
- 21. Paprika-seasoned stew: GOULASH
- 23. Meditation class chorus: OMS
- 24. Bull session participants?: TOREROS
- 29. Really come down: POUR
- 30. Pay one's share, with "up": ANTE
- 32. Gives and takes: SWAPS
- 33. Vinifera variety: PINOT
- 34. It has 25 states: INDIA
- 35. 1 and 66: Abbr.: NOS
- 36. Barbers' challenges: MOPS
- 37. General Motors division: SATURN
- 38. Ancient symbols of resurrection: SCARABS
- 39. Hand a line to, say: HITON
- 40. How to sign a contract: ININK
- 41. "Our Gang" dog: PETEY
- 43. "Moby-Dick" captain: PELEG
- 44. Baptism of fire: ORDEAL
- 47. Eye doctor: OCULIST
- 48. Have coming: MERIT
- 49. Toned: FIT
- 50. ___-temps (meanwhile, in Metz): ENTRE
- 51. King nicknamed "Longshanks": EDWARDI
- 57. Name in old politics: TAMMANY
- 58. Extra innings: TENTHS
- 59. Craters of the Moon locale: IDAHO
- 60. Big problem for a pilot: STALL
- 62. By: NEARTO
- 64. Quite silly: APISH
- 65. Carried a torch (for): PINED
- 66. Play to the rafters: EMOTE
- 67. Pitcher Martinez: RAMON
- 69. Copy cats?: MEW
- 71. Epitomic: IDEAL
- 72. Headache intensifier: NOISE
- 73. Football's ___ Bowl: GATOR
- 75. Brightens: PERKSUP
- 76. Its capital is Hagatña: GUAM
- 79. Results of getting needled?: TATTOOS
- 80. Looming choice: YARN
- 81. Bypass: OMIT
- 82. One whose days are numbered?: CPA
- 89. Beowulf, notably: SLAYER
- 90. Stalactite site: CAVERN
- 91. Church council: SYNOD
- 92. Add just before the deadline: EDGEIN
- 93. "Wayne's World" co-star: MYERS
- 94. 1983 Indy 500 winner: SNEVA
- 95. With 28-Across, some protests: SIT
- 96. "___ first ...": IFAT
- 97. Annual opener: SEMI
- 98. Pitcher: EWER
- 99. Foil relative: EPEE
- 101. Joint with a cap: KNEE
- 102. Singer Matthews: DAVE
- 103. Of the ear: OTIC
- 104. Non-P.C. wrap: MINK
- 105. Some Fr. martyrs: STES
- 107. ___ cit.: LOC
- 108. Nabokov novel: ADA
- 109. It may be cut: RUG
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.