NYT Crossword · The New York Times

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

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

Friday, May 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 Friday, May 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.

70 clues · jump to Across or Down. Tap a tile for one letter, or Answer for the whole word.

Across clues & answers

1
Latin trio part
5
Do or die
9
One standing in the wind, maybe
14
Abbr. at the bottom of a page
15
Parisian possessive
16
Harden
17
A student's place
19
Get out of the habit, maybe
20
Runs to become one
21
Source of some foot-stomping
23
"Now, hold on a minute here ..."
25
N.H.L. players, informally
26
California's ___ Raceway Park
28
Full complement of 41-Acrosses
31
Rustic wood finish
34
It may be a thriller
35
1980's White House name
36
She, in São Paulo
37
Corporate division
38
Dermatological concern
39
Like God
41
See 28-Across
42
Total alternative
43
Cooking evidence
45
Italian Communist Berlinguer and others
49
Chicago's Jane Byrne, once
52
Swiss canton
53
It's spoken on Bering Island
54
Opposite of emote
56
Cut out
57
Overwhelming audience response
58
Some are social
59
Thrifty competitor
60
Becomes less active
61
It was associated with Humble Oil

Down clues & answers

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Thursday, May 1, 2003

across

1. Heat locale: MIAMI
6. Wind instrument: VANE
10. Ring: PEAL
14. Early check, perhaps: ADVANCEPAY
16. Tabula ___: RASA
17. Opposite of abandoned?: RIGHTINTHELURCH
19. Expires: ENDS
20. Off, in a way: UNLIT
21. Account number: BALANCE
25. English king succeeded by William of Orange: JAMESII
27. Opposite of sad?: UPINTHEDUMPS
29. 1998 P.G.A. Championship winner: SINGH
30. Cooler in a cooler: ADE
31. T. S. Eliot's Theatre Cat: GUS
34. Errs - as in 17-, 27-, 42- and 52-Across?: TAKESAWRONGTURN
39. Years, to Yves: ANS
40. Year in Claudius's reign: LII
41. One of a finite pair?: LONGI
42. Opposite of dead-on?: LEFTONTARGET
46. Yacht spots: MARINAS
49. What payments may be in: ARREARS
50. Dinar spender: IRANI
51. "The Night of the Hunter" screenwriter: AGEE
52. Opposite of a gleeful shout?: DOWNDOWNANDAWAY
59. Kind of force: GALE
60. Chairpersons?: LIONTAMERS
61. Once, once: ERST
62. ___ regni (in the year of the reign): ANNO
63. Final figure: TOTAL

down

1. Scratch, say: MAR
2. First name in tyranny: IDI
3. Diamond stat.: AVG
4. ___-jongg: MAH
5. How fractions may be stated: INTENTHS
6. Buyer: VENDEE
7. Complex grp.: APTS
8. "Bad idea": NAH
9. Artist's asset: EYE
10. Trims: PRUNES
11. Counts, now: EARLS
12. Computer data format: ASCII
13. "Chicago Hope" Emmy winner: LAHTI
15. Sure success: CINCH
18. Mattress problem: LUMP
21. ___ gut (laugh hard): BUSTA
22. Hive-connected: APIAN
23. Driving course?: LINKS
24. Halo wearer, in France: ANGE
25. It might throw you: JUDO
26. "Absolutely!": AMEN
28. Italian playwright ___ Fo: DARIO
31. "___ Din": GUNGA
32. Insistent one: URGER
33. Piques: SNITS
35. Italian sports car, for short: ALFA
36. Good thing to have about you: WITS
37. Was obviously displeased with: GLAREDAT
38. Flew: TORE
42. Common finch: LINNET
43. Woman with legendary patience: ENID
44. First Olympics venue with women's hockey: NAGANO
45. 1545 council site: TRENT
46. Mosquito look-alike: MIDGE
47. Deafening: AROAR
48. "A Natural Man" Grammy winner: RAWLS
51. Erelong: ANON
53. Slangy suffix: OLA
54. Take home: WIN
55. Latin lover's declaration: AMO
56. Dripping: WET
57. Neighbor of Scorpius: ARA
58. Designer monogram: YSL

Hints and full breakdown for May 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.