NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 21, 2004
Friday, May 21, 2004
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, May 21, 2004. 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
- 26
- 28
- 39
- 53
- 56
- 58
- 62
Down clues & answers
- 12
- 46
- 59
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, May 20, 2004
across
- 1. Inter-island conveyance: RAFT
- 5. Ivory source: TUSK
- 9. Map feature: SCALE
- 14. Asian nursemaid: AMAH
- 15. Con: ANTI
- 16. Cutting tool: LASER
- 17. Alaskan cargo ship: JUNEAUOILTANKER
- 20. About 1% of the atmosphere: ARGON
- 21. Settle down for the night: ROOST
- 22. Quarters: ROOMS
- 25. Start of an inventor's thought: WHATIF
- 29. Negative space: HOLE
- 32. None too pleasant: SOUR
- 34. Singer Braxton: TONI
- 35. Common feature in comic book dialogue: ONOMATOPOEIAUSE
- 39. Asian occasion: TET
- 40. Disney frame: CEL
- 41. Short order, for short: BLT
- 42. Preserve, in a way: CAN
- 43. Fond farewell to Honolulu and environs: ADIEUOAHUISLAND
- 47. Fictional hunchback: IGOR
- 48. "Bonanza" brother: HOSS
- 49. They share keys with exclamation points: ONES
- 50. Computer menu choice: RENAME
- 53. Method: STEPS
- 55. Sir Georg with a baton: SOLTI
- 57. Beguile: TEMPT
- 61. California park worker: SEQUOIAEMPLOYEE
- 66. Deck out: ADORN
- 67. Whizzes: PROS
- 68. Some servers: URNS
- 69. Igloos, basically: DOMES
- 70. Looks over: EYES
- 71. Makes lace: TATS
down
- 1. Indian king: RAJA
- 2. Russia/Manchuria boundary river: AMUR
- 3. Poison injector: FANG
- 4. Provable proposition: THEOREM
- 5. Ancient cross: TAU
- 6. Spanish count starter: UNO
- 7. Agitates: STIRSUP
- 8. 2.2 lbs., approximately: KILO
- 9. Drastically reduce: SLASH
- 10. Bach specialty: CANTATA
- 11. "Shoot!": ASK
- 12. General at Antietam: LEE
- 13. Drop the ball: ERR
- 18. Four seasons in Sonora: ANO
- 19. Post-breakdown need: TOW
- 23. Bone: Prefix: OSTEO
- 24. Scratch: MOOLAH
- 26. Colorful bird: TOUCAN
- 27. Totally out of the question: INSANE
- 28. Troublemakers: FIENDS
- 29. Empty promises: HOTAIR
- 30. Testy: ONEDGE
- 31. Moisturizer: LOTION
- 33. Full-flavored: ROBUST
- 36. Prefix with pressure: ACU
- 37. Beethoven dedicatee: ELISE
- 38. "___ a small world ...": ITS
- 44. Complete removal: ERASURE
- 45. Women's wear department: HOSIERY
- 46. Miss the boat: LOSEOUT
- 51. Io and Ganymede, e.g.: MOONS
- 52. Ivy Leaguer: ELI
- 54. ___ Club of old TV: PTL
- 56. Emergency medical kit item: TAPE
- 58. "___ Breckinridge": MYRA
- 59. Locked (up): PENT
- 60. Hardy heroine: TESS
- 61. Blue: SAD
- 62. Shogun's capital: EDO
- 63. City SW of Tehran: QOM
- 64. A Stooge: MOE
- 65. Letter add-ons, for short: PSS
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.