NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for September 23, 2002

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Monday, September 23, 2002

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 4:04 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, September 23, 2002. 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

Down clues & answers

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

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Sunday, September 22, 2002

across

1. Player of old tunes: HIFI
5. Kind of wool: LAMBS
10. Grassy plain: CAMPO
15. Syndicate V.I.P.: CAPO
19. Scene of 1914 fighting: YSER
20. Place to learn anglais: ECOLE
21. Constellation next to Taurus: ORION
22. As easy as falling off ___: ALOG
23. Prefix with physical: META
24. Solzhenitsyn novel setting: GULAG
25. Money for a babysitter?: MINDERSFEE
27. One enamored of early Europeans?: NEANDERTHALFAN
30. ___ noodles (Chinese dish): SESAME
31. Climbing plant: LIANA
32. Writer Rand: AYN
33. Crimson rival: ELI
34. Chicken: COWARD
36. Med. choices: HMOS
39. Robinson Crusoe, e.g.: ISLANDER
44. In agreement: ATONE
45. Sandbox pile?: MOUNTAINOFYOUTH
48. Homily: Abbr.: SER
49. Intimidate: DAUNT
50. Tiny swarmer: GNAT
51. Common female middle name: MAE
52. Pride : lion :: gang : ___: ELK
53. Manhattan Project skeptic's motto?: FISSIONIMPOSSIBLE
58. ___ Miss: OLE
59. Do some high-tech surgery: LASE
60. Rat-___: ATAT
61. It may be cocked: HAT
62. Sign on many lawns: FORSALE
64. Cronus or Oceanus: TITAN
66. Giants Stadium spectator, maybe: JETSFAN
70. Plastic ___ Band: ONO
71. River to Donegal Bay: ERNE
72. See 80-Across: ROBB
73. Turkish title: AGA
74. Words from a long-suffering orthopedic patient?: THANKGODITSMRIDAY
80. With 72-Across, former Va. official: SEN
81. Kind of bran: OAT
82. Provider of coded instructions: GENE
83. "Zip your lip!": CANIT
84. Small songbird: TIT
85. Greek goddess with a great deal of patience?: SLOWBURNINGMUSE
90. Orderly fliers: GEESE
92. Anna Karenina and others: HEROINES
93. Car bar: AXLE
94. Wake-up calls: ALARMS
95. Washington and McKinley: Abbr.: MTS
96. "Fresh Air" airer: NPR
98. Sound at a soda fountain: SLURP
99. Cocaine, for one: OPIATE
102. Slow computer download?: FOURMINUTEFILE
108. Acceleration forces of Russian aircraft?: MIGNEWTONS
110. Author Brookner: ANITA
111. Spring: LEAP
112. Park ranger's study: Abbr.: ECOL
113. Writer ___ Maria Remarque: ERICH
114. Motherly start: MATRI
115. Trouble spots for teens: ACNE
116. Hardly: NARY
117. Chicago's Richard ___ Center: DALEY
118. Proximate to, to poets: ANEAR
119. Cutesy-poo dog: PEKE

down

1. It may precede a 48-Across: HYMN
2. Clairvoyant's opener: ISEE
3. One doing amniocentesis?: FETALWORKER
4. Qom native: IRANIAN
5. See 6-Down: LEGEND
6. With 5-Down, auto debut of 1986: ACURA
7. Shed: MOLT
8. Nondescript: BLAH
9. Arcade name: SEGA
10. Snug: COMFY
11. Sect follower?: ARIAN
12. Voyageurs Natl. Park locale: MINN
13. Minivehicle: POD
14. Something it's good to be: ONESELF
15. Card-matching game: Var.: CASSINO
16. Popular sports car, informally: ALFA
17. Lay: POEM
18. Molding with a curved profile: OGEE
26. Communications satellite, basically: RELAY
28. Certain bet: DARE
29. Go on: LAST
34. Words in many a Perry Mason title: CASEOF
35. Verdi opera: OTELLO
36. Put up: HOUSE
37. Bond type, briefly: MUNI
38. Aware of: ONTO
39. Unsuitable: INAPT
40. Explorer Hernando de ___: SOTO
41. One way to be struck: DUMB
42. List ender: ETAL
43. First president of Korea: RHEE
45. Pool shot: MASSE
46. Unease: AGITA
47. Hero of the 1997 best seller "Cold Mountain": INMAN
49. Kind of box: DIALOG
53. Meat cut: FLANK
54. Rear end, in anatomy: NATES
55. Month before Adar: SHEBAT
56. Watched and did nothing: SATBY
57. "___ Too Late" (King hit): ITS
63. Young fellow: SON
64. Singer Lopez: TRINI
65. One ___ (poor odds): INTEN
66. Actress Foster: JODIE
67. Work that's played allegro?: FASTERPIECE
68. Certain discrimination: AGEISM
69. Birthplace of Jules Verne: NANTES
71. Delightful places: EDENS
72. Dentist's order: RINSE
74. Reggae pioneer Peter: TOSH
75. In good shape: HALE
76. Suffix with decor: ATOR
77. Beast: OGRE
78. Year George V took the throne: MCMX
79. Actor Julia: RAUL
86. Feminine: WOMANLY
87. Polite word to a Fräulein: BITTE
88. Not yet attached, in a way: UNSEWED
89. "Tootsie" co-star: GARR
90. Mucilage: GLUE
91. Cold weather protector: EARFLAP
94. Star in the Summer Triangle: ALTAIR
96. Present occasion: NONCE
97. Aggressive: PUSHY
98. Kama ___: SUTRA
99. Black cat, to some: OMEN
100. Type type: PICA
101. Hunchback of film horror: IGOR
102. Frustrate: FOIL
103. Early 50's TV comedy: MAMA
104. ___ uproar: INAN
105. When the stars come out, in ads: NITE
106. Hardly portly: LANK
107. One-on-one sport: EPEE
109. Refrain part: TRA

Hints and full breakdown for Sep 22

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.