NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for March 31, 2003
Monday, March 31, 2003
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, March 31, 2003. 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
- 57
- 66
Down clues & answers
- 11
- 12
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Sunday, March 30, 2003
across
- 1. Large wardrobe: ARMOIRE
- 8. Harder to travel, in a way: ICIER
- 13. Household name in Verona: CAPULET
- 20. Filled online orders, say: SHIPPED
- 21. Barker: CARNY
- 22. Unity: ONENESS
- 23. Party college's nickname?: HOMEOFTHERAVE
- 25. Comeback: RIPOSTE
- 26. Idyllic spots: EDENS
- 27. Hard wood: EBONY
- 28. Musical featuring "It's Today": MAME
- 29. Tippler: SOT
- 30. Tweed nemesis: NAST
- 31. One side of the Bering Strait: ASIA
- 33. "Star Trek" navigator: SULU
- 34. Debarkation points: Abbr.: STNS
- 35. Squeaky wheel, maybe?: OILINGPOINT
- 40. Mrs. Portnoy, in "Portnoy's Complaint": SOPHIE
- 42. "___ Dieu!": MON
- 45. Ostentatious display: RITZ
- 46. Easily-wrinkled fabric: RAMIE
- 47. Spots: AREAS
- 48. Flowerlike polyp: ANEMONE
- 50. Directive to a band: HITIT
- 51. Tennis star Jelena ___: DOKIC
- 53. Narrow cleft: RAVINE
- 54. Talked-about: FAMED
- 55. "West Side Story" number: TONIGHT
- 57. Brain passages: ITERS
- 58. Radar screen repair?: BLIPSERVICE
- 60. Abbr. on a sale item: IRR
- 62. Parched: SERE
- 63. Come down heavily: POUR
- 64. "The Lake ___ of Innisfree": ISLE
- 65. Setter settler: FLEA
- 66. Thrash: TAN
- 67. Cook lettuce?: BRAISEMONEY
- 71. Father-and-son actors: ALDAS
- 72. Cardinal, e.g.: REDBIRD
- 74. Thick: MIDST
- 75. Boldness: STARCH
- 76. Food item: VIAND
- 77. Generous granter: GENIE
- 78. Edith who wrote "The Outcasts": SITWELL
- 79. Bailey bridge material: STEEL
- 81. Certain Indian: HINDU
- 82. ___-test: BETA
- 83. Napoleonic marshal: NEY
- 84. Slow road crosser: TURTLE
- 86. Appropriate name for a female fertility clinic?: MADAMEOVARY
- 89. Steakhouse selection: RIBS
- 90. In a minute: SOON
- 92. Person of action: DOER
- 93. Author Robert ___ Butler: OLEN
- 97. N.L. city: ATL
- 98. Coppertone nos.: SPFS
- 99. Three-toed animal: TAPIR
- 102. Harry Potter's potions professor: SNAPE
- 103. Relentless flood: NIAGARA
- 105. Cause of Leah's many pit stops?: JACOBSBLADDER
- 108. "King Lear" daughter: GONERIL
- 109. Stand out: EXCEL
- 110. Oblique: BEVELED
- 111. Run longer than expected: ENDLATE
- 112. Please, in Potsdam: BITTE
- 113. She looks to the future: SEERESS
down
- 1. Wan: ASHEN
- 2. 1970's TV spinoff: RHODA
- 3. Palefaces?: MIMES
- 4. Willingly taking: OPENTO
- 5. Wall St. opportunities: IPOS
- 6. Make the calls: REF
- 7. Summer hrs. in D.C.: EDT
- 8. Pain reliever: ICEBAG
- 9. L.B.J. biographer Robert A. ___: CARO
- 10. Turkmenistan neighbor: IRAN
- 11. It "slayeth the silly one": Job: ENVY
- 12. It may be seeded: RYE
- 13. Marine formation: CORAL
- 14. Ill will: ANIMUS
- 15. Love-crazy Le Pew: PEPE
- 16. Half due: UNO
- 17. Without kids?: LESSTHECHILDREN
- 18. 1991 joiner of the United Nations: ESTONIA
- 19. African pests: TSETSES
- 24. Big pickle producer: HEINZ
- 28. Bell insert: MUTE
- 31. Dress style: ALINE
- 32. Net-surfer's stop: SITE
- 33. Lather: SNIT
- 34. Garnish, possibly: SPRIG
- 36. Does pressing work: IRONS
- 37. Hog the mirror: PRIMP
- 38. "Black Water" novelist: OATES
- 39. Ammonia derivative: IMIDE
- 41. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE
- 42. Poughkeepsie college: MARIST
- 43. Raising hell: ONATEAR
- 44. Like chili peppers?: NEVERNEVERBLAND
- 49. Bog down: MIRE
- 50. They're found in the brush: HAIRS
- 51. Lace mat: DOILY
- 52. Previously: ONCE
- 54. Unfixed: FLUID
- 55. Show case?: TVSET
- 56. Molasses: TREACLE
- 58. Get on: BOARD
- 59. Dentist's order: RINSE
- 61. How some people get tattoos: RASHLY
- 63. High sch. disciplinarian: PRIN
- 65. Gem devaluer: FLAW
- 67. Hoops: BBALL
- 68. Fix: EMEND
- 69. "I don't ___ bit": MINDA
- 70. Hatred: ODIUM
- 71. Fragrant oil: ATTAR
- 73. Tries to lose: DIETS
- 75. "Norwegian Wood" instrument: SITAR
- 77. ___ Carlo Menotti: GIAN
- 78. Golfer Ballesteros: SEVE
- 79. Exotic: STRANGE
- 80. It's big in the Ivy League: TUITION
- 81. Certain co. plans: HMOS
- 82. Embarrassing guests: BOORS
- 85. Vivacity: ESPRIT
- 87. Like some mushrooms: EDIBLE
- 88. Over there: YONDER
- 91. Yard ___ (pub order): OFALE
- 94. Borscht server: LADLE
- 95. Slender blades: EPEES
- 96. Unhip types: NERDS
- 98. Song from Dylan's "Desire": SARA
- 99. Head to the terminal, say: TAXI
- 100. It's accessed with a no.: ACCT
- 101. Sappho, e.g.: POET
- 102. Goalie's feat: SAVE
- 104. Come together: GEL
- 105. One of the Bushes: JEB
- 106. Not-so-big shot: BBS
- 107. Wrangler competitor: LEE
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.