NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 24, 2003

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Saturday, May 24, 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 Saturday, May 24, 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

Down clues & answers

1
Touches
2
Whip up
3
___ Island National Wildlife Refuge, in Florida
4
Fla. setting
5
Comment of enlightenment
6
Doesn't work
7
Low seats
8
1887 La Scala premiere
9
Interrupts
10
Main course?
11
Rock stratum
12
"Oops"
13
Old kitchen supplies
14
Disdained, with "at"
21
French noun suffix
24
It's useless without its mate
26
Grows
28
Mark's successor
32
Flying alone
34
"The Shelters of Stone" author
37
Leave
38
Running wild
39
Excite
40
Farm hauler
41
Contents of a political tract, maybe
42
Language from which "amok" is derived
43
France, for one
44
Wren creation
47
Flint is a form of it
51
Health, in Le Havre
54
Without plans
55
Four-time Indy 500 winner
58
Taper
60
Even if, briefly

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

WhatsApp X Reddit

Previous The Crossword answer

Friday, May 23, 2003

across

1. Wearing shorts, say: BARELEGGED
11. Count, perhaps: PEER
15. It was outlawed in the 19th century: SLAVETRADE
16. Title girl in the first Beatles album: ANNA
17. Become #1: TAKECHARGE
18. Part of instructions: STEP
19. Concerning: ANENT
20. Wolves and others: PREDATORS
22. Sign of laryngitis: RASP
23. Did a farrier's work: SHOD
24. "___ all you want ...": LAUGH
25. St. Gotthard Tunnel passes through one: ALP
27. At most: TOPS
29. Kvass ingredient: RYE
30. Frequent target of car break-ins: STEREO
33. Prefix with market: EURO
34. Grandpa Simpson on "The Simpsons": ABE
35. Word for the wise?: MOT
36. Do poorly: AIL
38. Big publisher in science fiction: TOR
39. Piece: GAT
40. Space on a deposit slip: Abbr.: AMT
41. Insincere, in a way: GLIB
43. Electromagnetic wave amplifiers: MASERS
45. Diet-based meas.: RDA
46. Where Kalinin was pres.: USSR
47. ___ mission: ONA
48. Pith helmet: TOPEE
50. Mix thoroughly: TOSS
52. Satyr, slangily: LECH
56. Fear-induced reaction: COLDSWEAT
58. Certain newspaper section: METRO
59. Asia's Trans ___ range: ALAI
60. Who said "Sex is the biggest nothing of all time": ANDYWARHOL
62. Geom. figure: RECT
63. Sorbet alternative: ITALIANICE
64. Colors: DYES
65. Dr. Seuss title: FOXINSOCKS

down

1. Rigel, for one: BSTAR
2. "32 Flavors" singer Davis: ALANA
3. Casanova and Don Juan: RAKES
4. How some golfers shoot a round: EVENPAR
5. Prof.'s class: LECT
6. Bygone letter: ETH
7. Show visually: GRAPH
8. Strangle: GARROTE
9. Barely beat: EDGEDOUT
10. Act: DEED
11. It may come in ribbons: PASTA
12. Followers: ENTOURAGE
13. Athlete's snack: ENERGYBAR
14. Bad records: RAPSHEETS
21. Miss Congeniality, e.g.: ALSORAN
23. Plunder: SPOILS
26. Major ___: LEAGUES
28. Parts of an ad campaign: PROMOS
30. Key substitute: SMARTCARD
31. #1 hit for the Kingston Trio: TOMDOOLEY
32. Companion of the Wild Bunch: ETTAPLACE
37. Heed: LISTENTO
42. Tree hewer: BROADAX
44. Italian seaport: SALERNO
49. Changes made to a manuscript: EDITS
51. Cuneiform markers: STYLI
53. Standard: ETHIC
54. Nonsense, slangily: CROCK
55. Swiss features: HOLES
57. Ragamuffin: WAIF
58. "Serpico" author: MAAS
61. Something in the plus column: WIN

Hints and full breakdown for May 23

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.