NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for April 2, 2003

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Wednesday, April 2, 2003

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 4:01 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Wednesday, April 2, 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.

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

1
"Sesame Street" channel
2
Order's partner
3
In the manner of
4
Savings for a rainy day
5
Soliloquy starter
6
Lie next to
7
Coffee order
8
Cheap so-and-so
9
Immigrant's course: Abbr.
10
Numbered rds.
11
Post office request
12
Worthy principles
13
Dreaded fly
18
"___ real nowhere man" (Beatles lyric)
22
Like a sloe
23
Priests' vestments
24
Alphabetize, e.g.
25
"Wake up!"
27
Thinly spread
30
Waterproof overshoe
31
"... abridging the freedom of speech, ___ the press ..." (Bill of Rights)
33
Toronto-to-Ottawa dir.
36
Chinese food additive
37
Chinese dollar
39
U.P.S. delivery: Abbr.
41
"Horrors!"
42
Takes a turn
44
Caspian feeder
45
Checked, as growth
46
Accelerated
47
They yearn
49
Where the nuevo sol is spent
52
Ball mate
53
"57 Varieties" company
56
Rental units: Abbr.
58
Book after Proverbs: Abbr.
59
Busy as ___
62
Uris hero ___ Ben Canaan
63
Reason for overtime
64
Mine find
65
Composer Rorem

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Tuesday, April 1, 2003

across

1. Direction for Greeley: WEST
5. Helen's abductor: PARIS
10. Spreadsheet filler: DATA
14. Locality: AREA
15. Thomas Gray work: ELEGY
16. "Help ___ the way!": ISON
17. "Poor Little Fool" singer: RICKNELSON
19. Quickly, in the I.C.U.: STAT
20. Shooting star: METEOR
21. Dissertation: TREATISE
23. Use a Singer: SEW
25. No-nos: DONTS
26. "What Kind of Fool Am I" singer: SAMMYDAVISJR
33. Met song: ARIA
34. Lane co-worker at the Daily Planet: KENT
35. Norse thunder god: THOR
39. Short skirt: MINI
40. Orioles and cardinals: BIRDS
41. "Othello" villain: IAGO
42. Genesis paradise: EDEN
43. Annul: UNDO
44. French airport: ORLY
45. "The Fool on the Hill" bandleader: SERGIOMENDES
49. Dundee residents: SCOTS
52. "Norma ___": RAE
53. Where bowlers may go: HATRACKS
57. Wall Street employee: TRADER
62. Tooth trouble: ACHE
63. "She's a Fool" songstress: LESLEYGORE
65. Perlman of "Cheers": RHEA
66. Prefix with face or faith: INTER
67. Supreme Norse deity: ODIN
68. Salon job: PERM
69. Puts on the bulletin board: POSTS
70. Missing: GONE

down

1. Friendly: WARM
2. Cleveland's lake: ERIE
3. Religious group: SECT
4. Bit of filming: TAKE
5. Looked intently: PEERED
6. Everybody: ALL
7. Take five: REST
8. Dr. Frankenstein's assistant: IGOR
9. "Auld Lang ___": SYNE
10. Wide-angle lens concern: DISTORTION
11. John of "The Addams Family": ASTIN
12. Raise one's glass to: TOAST
13. Starts a pot: ANTES
18. Like a yenta: NOSY
22. Word modifier: Abbr.: ADJ
24. Regaining consciousness: WAKING
26. Identical: SAME
27. Like the Gobi: ARID
28. Coal hole: MINE
29. Not the fringes: MAINSTREAM
30. "Rigoletto" composer: VERDI
31. Kind of plumbing: INDOOR
32. Thoroughfares: Abbr.: STS
36. Knotty: HARD
37. Look at flirtatiously: OGLE
38. Rogers and Clark: ROYS
40. Prickly husk: BUR
46. Spaniard's "that": ESA
47. Alma ___ (grads' schools): MATERS
48. Mysterious: Var.: EERY
49. Quick-witted: SHARP
50. Hiding place: CACHE
51. Different: OTHER
54. Fast pace: CLIP
55. Lotto relative: KENO
56. Some arrivals at 44-Across: SSTS
58. Wide-eyed: AGOG
59. Knucklehead: DODO
60. Ireland, in poesy: ERIN
61. Philosopher Descartes: RENE
64. Allow: LET

Hints and full breakdown for Apr 1

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.