NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for March 31, 2005

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Thursday, March 31, 2005

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 3:47 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, March 31, 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.

76 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
Magic charm
2
Tiny bit
3
See 6-Down
4
They're crunched
5
Fractions of a deg.
6
3- and 9-Down, e.g.
7
Inspiration for poets and musicians
8
Hotel restriction
9
See 6-Down
10
Where Columbus made landfall, 1492
11
Certain community centers
13
Toughness
15
Coca-Cola Company beverage
21
Falter
25
Concerning
27
Word said while raising one's hand
28
Chasm
29
Transportation option
30
Gobs
34
Ball in a basket
36
Old ___
37
Some colonists
39
Didn't spoil
41
They're chewed in the field
44
One good at multiplying
46
Talk big
49
"Savvy?"
51
N.B.A. star who played at L.S.U.
52
Pitching stat
53
Fighter pilot Edward for whom an airport is named
54
"___ man who wasn't there"
58
Thick slice
60
Planar measure
61
Consequently
64
___-cone

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Wednesday, March 30, 2005

across

1. Cousin of a cockatoo: MACAW
6. Read on the run: SKIM
10. Lip: SASS
14. Sultanate citizen: OMANI
15. Shower square: TILE
16. Fall preceder: TRIP
17. Informal head cover: DORAG
18. Housing ___: UNIT
19. First name in architecture: EERO
20. One who gets a piece of the pie?: WEDGEEARNER
23. Kind of sauce: TARTAR
27. Religious commemoration: FEAST
28. Fearful: ALARMED
30. Baltimore partner: OHIO
32. Ticked off: SORE
33. Allude: REFER
35. Copy: APE
38. Borderline logic?: THEEDGEOFREASON
42. Ring site: EAR
43. Cockamamie: INANE
44. Roll: LIST
45. Sing the praises of: LAUD
46. Kind of ring: DECODER
49. Bee-related: APIAN
52. Ally in movies: SHEEDY
53. "Stay away from the swamp grass"?: SEDGEADVICE
58. Poe product: TALE
59. Bridge: JOIN
60. It may be well-taken: WATER
65. Pastry chef's aide: ICER
66. 2003 A.L. M.V.P., familiarly: AROD
67. Displaced person: EXILE
68. Some M & M's: REDS
69. Bank (on): RELY
70. Durable fabric: DENIM

down

1. In style: MOD
2. Start of a Latin conjugation: AMO
3. Elevator part: CAR
4. Baptist leader?: ANA
5. Passamaquoddy home: WIGWAM
6. Formal accessory: STUD
7. Double checker: KING
8. Rival of Bjorn: ILIE
9. Parcel: METE
10. Sound setup: STEREO
11. Final Four site: ARENA
12. Horse fathers: SIRES
13. Wear: SPORT
21. Poetic conjunction: ERE
22. Combusted: AFIRE
23. Try a tidbit: TASTE
24. Luau greeting: ALOHA
25. Not so common: RARER
26. Palm, e.g.: TREE
29. Huge worry: DREAD
30. Did in: OFFED
31. Part of H.M.S.: HER
34. Many millennia: EON
35. To the left or right: ASIDE
36. Put forward: POSED
37. Diary note: ENTRY
39. "Cheers" role: DIANE
40. Savanna sight: GNU
41. Tissue additive: ALOE
45. Some brews: LAGERS
47. Key abbr.: ESC
48. Masticated: CHEWED
49. Moving: ASTIR
50. Sign of the 1960's: PEACE
51. Sat around: IDLED
54. Open a bit: AJAR
55. Scale start: DORE
56. Old fiddle: VIOL
57. Dr. Jones, to friends: INDY
61. Fire truck accessory: AXE
62. Canterbury can: TIN
63. Elm City collegian: ELI
64. "Stand" band, 1989: REM

Hints and full breakdown for Mar 30

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.