NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for October 18, 2003
Saturday, October 18, 2003
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, October 18, 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
- 17
- 59
- 61
Down clues & answers
- 28
- 48
- 50
- 60
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Friday, October 17, 2003
across
- 1. Range where Prometheus was bound: CAUCASUS
- 9. Sample: SWATCH
- 15. Military strength: ARMAMENT
- 16. African capital southwest of Kampala: KIGALI
- 17. Lambastes: RIPSINTO
- 18. At all: ONEBIT
- 19. Reagan's first interior secretary: WATT
- 20. Skin care products: TONERS
- 22. Switch positions: ONS
- 23. Scottish singleton: ANE
- 24. Business card abbr.: EXT
- 25. With 48-Down, Inquisition judgment and execution: AUTO
- 26. Bygone blade: SNEE
- 28. Heart: GIST
- 30. Deep pink: MELON
- 31. Tech school offering: HANDSONTRAINING
- 34. Wheel: BIGCHEESE
- 35. Hidden agenda: ULTERIORMOTIVES
- 41. Part of a British cavalry: SABRE
- 42. Big name in plumbing products: MOEN
- 43. Grand Canyon craft: DORY
- 44. Shoot: TWIG
- 45. Wrap (up): SEW
- 46. Let go: CAN
- 47. Poorly: ILL
- 48. Part of a doctor's order: DOSAGE
- 51. 1998 National League M.V.P.: SOSA
- 52. American painter of sports scenes: NEIMAN
- 54. Like Fortunato in "The Cask of Amontillado": WALLEDUP
- 56. Harden: OSSIFY
- 57. Current gadgets: AMMETERS
- 58. Some engines: VSIXES
- 59. "You got that right!": YESSIREE
down
- 1. Where to get a shiny body: CARWASH
- 2. Monteverdi opera: ARIANNA
- 3. Myriad: UMPTEEN
- 4. Hue: CAST
- 5. Réunion pal: AMI
- 6. On the way, in a way: SENT
- 7. "___ These Hills" (Cherokee Indian drama): UNTO
- 8. Short distance: STONESTHROWAWAY
- 9. Women's hybrid item of apparel: SKORT
- 10. Sports column?: WINS
- 11. Basis of some divisions: AGE
- 12. Mediterranean salad: TABOULI
- 13. Vice president after Burr: CLINTON
- 14. Chart topper: HITSONG
- 21. Far-out: EXTREME
- 25. Augustan masterpiece: AENEID
- 27. 1992 U.S. Open champion: EDBERG
- 28. ___ Grant, "The Wayward Wind" singer, 1956: GOGI
- 29. Workers make them: INCOMES
- 30. Drink served over cracked ice: MIST
- 32. Produce: SIRE
- 33. Astronomical unit: AEON
- 35. "Dear Me" theatrical memoirist: USTINOV
- 36. Unrestrained: LAWLESS
- 37. Capital east of the Black Sea: TBILISI
- 38. Speech synthesizer: VOCODER
- 39. Start of some corrections: ERASURE
- 40. Firing point, of a sort: SYNAPSE
- 45. Some TV's: SONYS
- 48. See 25-Across: DAFE
- 49. Up for it: GAME
- 50. Some blight victims: ELMS
- 51. Father of Ramses II: SETI
- 53. Crossbreed: MIX
- 55. Mystery novelist Roberts: LES
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.