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NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for March 18, 2005

Friday, March 18, 2005

By Last updated How we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, March 18, 2005. 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.

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

Across clues & answers

  1. 1

    Squeals

  2. 6

    One of the Ewings on "Dallas"

  3. 9

    Father of well-known twins

  4. 14

    Gold-related

  5. 15

    He racked up 645 assists

  6. 16

    Liquor alternative, in verse

  7. 17

    Like an unlucky thief

  8. 20

    When doubled, a literary lecher

  9. 21

    Beethoven's one

  10. 22

    Many correspondents, nowadays

  11. 24

    Lions play in it: Abbr.

  12. 27

    Like the thief at 17-Across

  13. 31

    Piece activists?: Abbr.

  14. 32

    Revolts

  15. 33

    "Picnic" playwright

  16. 34

    Songlike

  17. 36

    Hall-of-Fame golfer Tommy ___, called the "Silver Scot"

  18. 38

    Hugh Downs was his announcer

  19. 39

    Some knit goods

  20. 42

    Dot follower

  21. 43

    Like the thief at 17- and 27-Across

  22. 47

    Tally: Abbr.

  23. 48

    Not enter hurriedly

  24. 49

    Cause of some shaking

  25. 50

    Short land route between two lakes

  26. 54

    Classic moral

  27. 58

    "The Wild Duck" playwright

  28. 59

    Inner city, e.g.

  29. 60

    Loyal subject

  30. 61

    Megacorporation

  31. 62

    Longest river of Scotland

  32. 63

    German shoe material

Down clues & answers

  1. 1

    Mass producer

  2. 2

    Occasion to cook in an imu

  3. 3

    Kind of lily

  4. 4

    High roller's venture

  5. 5

    They have plots

  6. 6

    Attachment in classical architecture

  7. 7

    Form of "to be"

  8. 8

    2002 title role for Adam Sandler

  9. 9

    Rejoinder to a doubter

  10. 10

    Without

  11. 11

    Additionally

  12. 12

    "Fables in Slang" author

  13. 13

    Children's book illustrator Moore

  14. 18

    Romantic plotter in "The Taming of the Shrew"

  15. 19

    "Honey in the Horn" jazzman

  16. 23

    Court call

  17. 24

    Title subject of a classic 1922 documentary

  18. 25

    1, for one

  19. 26

    Cloth

  20. 27

    Purchase quickly

  21. 28

    Seeking adventure

  22. 29

    Juvenile dragonflies

  23. 30

    Name in the original "Star Trek"

  24. 35

    Graphite, e.g.

  25. 36

    Its motto is "To help them, you have to help yourself first"

  26. 37

    Landlord's record

  27. 39

    Get the short end of the stick

  28. 40

    Driving danger

  29. 41

    Passes jauntily

  30. 44

    University officer

  31. 45

    Sing a paean to

  32. 46

    Golfer Pepper

  33. 49

    Service approval

  34. 51

    Did like

  35. 52

    Plum variety

  36. 53

    One giving the once-over

  37. 54

    Smoke

  38. 55

    An Indian might get one: Abbr.

  39. 56

    "Love ___ Ball" (1963 comedy)

  40. 57

    Chronology component

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Previous The Crossword answer

Thursday, March 17, 2005

across

  • 1. Livestock feed: MASH
  • 5. Float device?: STRAW
  • 10. Blowup: SPAT
  • 14. Panasonic competitor: AIWA
  • 15. Tropical palm: ARECA
  • 16. Like puppies: CUTE
  • 17. Abbr. in a musical score: CRES
  • 18. Bar sites: LIMOS
  • 19. Commedia dell'___: ARTE
  • 20. Maintains careful control: KEEPSATIGHTREIN
  • 23. N.Y.C. summer hrs.: EDT
  • 24. Prefix with meter: ODO
  • 25. Concerns, with "to": REFERS
  • 26. Religious believer that humankind is descended from aliens: RAELIAN
  • 28. Long time: EON
  • 29. Actress Susan: DEY
  • 30. Other: ELSE
  • 31. Overrun: FLOOD
  • 33. Patriotic cry: LETFREEDOMREIGN
  • 40. S.A.T. sight: TIMER
  • 41. Hem length, maybe: KNEE
  • 42. Things to crunch: ABS
  • 45. Go to: SEE
  • 46. Relative of a glockenspiel: CELESTA
  • 49. Hardly a workaholic: LOAFER
  • 51. Western Indian: UTE
  • 52. Longtime Dungeons & Dragons maker: TSR
  • 53. 1962 Everly Brothers hit: CRYINGINTHERAIN
  • 57. Slayer of Ymir, in myth: ODIN
  • 58. Livid: IRATE
  • 59. Princess born 8/15/1950: ANNE
  • 60. Sell: VEND
  • 61. Recipient of 400,000 votes in 2004: NADER
  • 62. Old Corvette competitors: GTOS
  • 63. Energy units: ERGS
  • 64. You may use a stick for these: GEARS
  • 65. ID's for the I.R.S.: SSNS

down

  • 1. Yellowfish, for one: MACKEREL
  • 2. Black-and-tan pet: AIREDALE
  • 3. "Success is counted ___ / By those who ne'er succeed": Dickinson: SWEETEST
  • 4. Gate fastener: HASP
  • 5. Popular tea maker: SALADA
  • 6. Greek god with a conch-shell trumpet: TRITON
  • 7. Do follower: REMI
  • 8. Slip ___: ACOG
  • 9. Place for a sink: WASHROOM
  • 10. Boa: SCARF
  • 11. Like some peaches: PUREED
  • 12. Dress: ATTIRE
  • 13. Wee: TEENSY
  • 21. "___ see!": SOI
  • 22. Drift: TENOR
  • 27. Went: LEFT
  • 28. "Olé ___" (1976 hit album): ELO
  • 31. Subj. of a three-volume Arthur Schlesinger history: FDR
  • 32. Fraternity brother of Dubya: DEKE
  • 34. Up: RISEN
  • 35. Opposite of mature: EMERGING
  • 36. Large shoe width: EEE
  • 37. Seconds: INSTANTS
  • 38. Joins: GETSINON
  • 39. Proximity: NEARNESS
  • 42. Recess: ALCOVE
  • 43. Guard's locale: BORDER
  • 44. Saw: SAYING
  • 46. Saw: CUTTER
  • 47. Ethyl oxides: ETHERS
  • 48. Jeans brand: LEE
  • 50. Comes across: FINDS
  • 54. "Dies ___": IRAE
  • 55. Nil: NADA
  • 56. Teases mercilessly: RAGS
Hints and full breakdown for Mar 17

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.