NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 19, 2003

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

Monday, May 19, 2003

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 4:00 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, May 19, 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

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

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Sunday, May 18, 2003

across

1. Shells and twists: PASTAS
7. Fund-raiser's target: FATCAT
13. Site of Simón Bolívar Airport: CARACAS
20. In: ATHOME
21. French satellite-launching rocket: ARIANE
22. Rigid: ADAMANT
23. What stool pigeons do?: SHOWANDTELLON
25. What blowhards lack: MODESTY
26. ___ up (in the bag): SEWN
27. School appointment: DEAN
28. Skedaddles: GITS
30. Swell party: BASH
31. Article in a gazette: UNE
32. Enthusiastic drinker at an old English inn?: FLAGONWAVER
35. Patriots' grp.: AFC
38. Similar: PARALLEL
42. Completely: INTOTO
43. F.D.R.-era agcy.: NRA
44. Actress who was born Margaret Hyra: MEGRYAN
46. Meeting needs: AGENDAS
50. Movement including astrology and aromatherapy: NEWAGE
53. Cheesy snacks: NACHOS
58. Draw out: ELICIT
59. Novelist who wrote the screenplay for "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral": URIS
60. Suffix with verb: OSE
62. Aborigine of northern Japan: AINU
63. Workers with green cards: LEGALS
64. "Thanks a ___!": MIL
65. Bit part in "Law and Order"?: PERPWALKON
68. Maintain: AVER
69. Central Park's ___ Fountain: BETHESDA
71. Diminutive suffix: ULE
72. Discouraged: DETERRED
76. They may get into hot water: TEAS
77. Member of the Ivanhoe Chorale?: TENORSAXON
80. "Whoopee!": YAY
81. "The English Patient" setting: SAHARA
83. Comment of betrayal: ETTU
84. Always, archaically: AYE
85. Spoonful, say: DOSE
86. Too: OVERLY
87. Was far from respectful: SASSED
89. George and Elizabeth: SAINTS
91. Haunt: POSSESS
93. Trattoria order: LASAGNA
96. Sellout: HIT
97. Seven-time N.L. batting champ: MUSIAL
102. Agreements: ENTENTES
106. Madras mister: SRI
107. French lottery ticket?: COUPONDETAT
110. Same old, same old: RUT
111. Author/critic John: LAHR
113. Seasonal song word: AULD
114. "The fix ___": ISIN
116. Catalan-born Surrealist: MIRO
117. Opposite of charge: RETREAT
120. Chicken dish for Adm. Peary?: POLARICECAPON
123. Set apart: ISOLATE
124. Level: EVENED
125. Not level: ASLOPE
126. Signaled: DENOTED
127. Noted libertine: DESADE
128. Like some speakeasies: RAIDED

down

1. Skip: PASSUP
2. Parthenon figure: ATHENA
3. "Psycho" set: SHOWER
4. Out of ___ (away): TOWN
5. Commercial suffix with roller: AMA
6. Dispatch: SEND
7. How flies are attracted to a Venus's flytrap: FATALLY
8. Padua's ___ Chapel, with a renowned Giotto fresco: ARENA
9. The Everly Brothers' "___ I Kissed You": TIL
10. Water softener brand: CALGON
11. Consecrate: ANOINT
12. How "12" is expressed in Chinese: TENTWO
13. Engine part: CAM
14. Building material: ADOBE
15. Kind of screen: RADAR
16. Infamous Aldrich: AMES
17. What the Vegas winner took aboard the plane?: CASHANDCARRYON
18. Tunneler: ANT
19. Sloppy pen: STY
24. Put on hold: DEFER
29. Idled: SAT
33. Actress Gershon: GINA
34. Overseas broadcasting service: Abbr.: VOA
36. Delicate: FRAIL
37. Ensembles: CASTS
39. One of a Latin trio: AMAS
40. Turkey part: LEG
41. Bigger than med.: LGE
45. Once again: ANEW
47. Cold dessert: GELATO
48. Football team: ELEVEN
49. Big uranium exporter: NIGER
50. Unfeeling: NUMB
51. Great Lakes port: ERIE
52. Big cheese of basketball?: WILTTHESTILTON
54. Unfeeling: CALLOUS
55. Trail sight: HIKER
56. Plastic ___ Band: ONO
57. Easter, e.g.: SUNDAY
60. Chicago airport letters: ORD
61. Floods: SPATES
65. Big name in eyewear: PEARLE
66. Themes: ESSAYS
67. Some sisters: AUNTS
70. Attends, as a recital: HEARS
73. Devon river: EXE
74. See 115-Down: EAST
75. Colors: DYES
78. Letter from abroad: ETA
79. Tony-winning Thompson: SADA
81. Campus group, informally: SOPHS
82. To have, in Le Havre: AVOIR
85. Anthropologist Fossey: DIAN
88. Magazine with a palindromic name: ELLE
89. Friday, e.g.: Abbr.: SGT
90. "Gimme ___!" (part of a Duke cheer): ANE
92. Laura Bush's alma mater: Abbr.: SMU
94. Vacation destination: SEASIDE
95. Caper: ANTIC
98. ___ notch: UPA
99. ___ up (like some jalopies): SOUPED
100. Smitten: INLOVE
101. Boggles: ADDLES
103. Surveyor's equipment: TRIPOD
104. One Fodor's guide: EUROPE
105. Very high: STONED
107. I.R.S. target: CHEAT
108. Be on a soapbox: ORATE
109. Stale: TIRED
112. Author/poet Bates: ARLO
115. With 74-Down, part of Asia: NEAR
116. 49-Down neighbor: MALI
117. Free: RID
118. Computer attachment?: ESE
119. A Kennedy: TED
121. Santa ___: ANA
122. Jeff Davis's cause: Abbr.: CSA

Hints and full breakdown for May 18

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.