Skip to content
ZWordFinderZ

NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 13, 2005

Friday, May 13, 2005

By Last updated How we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, May 13, 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.

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

Across clues & answers

  1. 1

    Met men

  2. 22
  3. 32

    Clearings

  4. 39
  5. 45
  6. 48
  7. 62

    Let out

  8. 64
  9. 66

    Big key

Down clues & answers

  1. 2

    "It"

  2. 3

    Pan-___

  3. 4

    Bursae

  4. 7

    Behold

  5. 25

    Viet ___

  6. 31
  7. 39

    Pool site

  8. 46

    Malaise

  9. 47

    Earn

  10. 58

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

WhatsAppXReddit

Previous The Crossword answer

Thursday, May 12, 2005

across

  • 1. It's surrounded by walls: MESA
  • 5. Place for change: TILL
  • 9. A Marx brother: CHICO
  • 14. Canned: AXED
  • 15. Nebraska City is its county seat: OTOE
  • 16. Capital city surrounding the Lake of the Restored Sword: HANOI
  • 17. Clearly doing evil: UPTONOGOODATALL
  • 20. Fate: LOT
  • 21. "I heard you! I heard you!": OKOK
  • 22. Combat zones: ARENAS
  • 23. It gets plastered: LATH
  • 25. "That steams me!": IMMAD
  • 27. Opposite of sans: AVEC
  • 29. Deaden: OBTUND
  • 31. Pokémon, for one: FAD
  • 34. Play group: CAST
  • 35. Take away: LESS
  • 36. Keep an ___ the ground: EARTO
  • 38. At issue: UPFORDISCUSSION
  • 41. "Irish Lullaby" starter: TOORA
  • 42. Chug-a-lug: GULP
  • 43. View all over: OGLE
  • 44. Get it wrong: ERR
  • 45. Big enough fish: KEEPER
  • 47. Home for hippopotamuses: NILE
  • 48. It may be perfect: TENSE
  • 49. Like a gin fizz: ICED
  • 51. Incentive: CARROT
  • 54. Brand for a pasta lover: RAGU
  • 56. Alias: AKA
  • 59. Alee: AWAYFROMTHEWIND
  • 62. Scads, after "a": LOTOF
  • 63. Poverty: WANT
  • 64. Completely uninteresting: ARID
  • 65. Caramel-topped desserts: FLANS
  • 66. Baseball's Slaughter: ENOS
  • 67. Comes down with: GETS

down

  • 1. Stake driver: MAUL
  • 2. Public show, for short: EXPO
  • 3. Takes, without being completely happy about it: SETTLESFOR
  • 4. Hurry-scurry: ADO
  • 5. Rooted: TOOKHOLD
  • 6. "Let ___" ("Quit worrying"): ITGO
  • 7. Cry in Metropolis while pointing … and a hint to this puzzle's theme: LOOKITSSUPERMAN
  • 8. Generous, creative, but bossy type, so it's said: LEO
  • 9. Party game: CHARADES
  • 10. Couldn't take: HATED
  • 11. "Back ___ hour": INAN
  • 12. RC, e.g.: COLA
  • 13. Stops squeaking: OILS
  • 18. "Just the opposite!": NOT
  • 19. "Confound it!": DAMN
  • 24. Stage presence: ACTOR
  • 26. Mover or shaker?: MUSCLE
  • 27. Well-tuned: ACUTE
  • 28. Contrail content: VAPOR
  • 30. Quiet colors: BEIGES
  • 31. Kitchen appliance: FRIGIDAIRE
  • 32. Beach locale: ATOLL
  • 33. Charitable organization, often: DONEE
  • 37. In sync: ASONE
  • 39. Skimmers' skimmings: RAKEOFFS
  • 40. Goalposts: UPRIGHTS
  • 46. ___'acte: ENTR
  • 48. Check for fit: TRYON
  • 50. Nod, maybe: CUE
  • 51. Young whale: CALF
  • 52. Military acronym: AWOL
  • 53. Pro ___: RATA
  • 55. 79 for gold, e.g.: Abbr.: ATNO
  • 57. Like a polo shirt: KNIT
  • 58. Stirs in: ADDS
  • 60. Be shy: OWE
  • 61. Jokester: WAG
Hints and full breakdown for May 12

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.