NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 24, 2005

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 3:46 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Tuesday, May 24, 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

Down clues & answers

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

WhatsApp X Reddit

Previous The Crossword answer

Monday, May 23, 2005

across

1. Stogie: CIGAR
6. "Remember the ___!": ALAMO
11. ___-la-la: TRA
14. Place to study, in France: ECOLE
15. Some jazz: BEBOP
16. 1975 musical with a Yellow Brick Road, with "The": WIZ
17. Mole: DOUBLEAGENT
19. Place for post-op patients, for short: ICU
20. Involves: ENTAILS
21. Remover of hides: SKINNER
23. Household power: Abbr.: ELEC
25. Reagan attorney general Edwin: MEESE
26. Salad leaf: ENDIVE
30. Acquire: OBTAIN
33. Terse note from a boss: SEEME
34. ___ Lee Corp. (Fortune 500 company): SARA
35. End-of-week cry: TGIF
38. Progresso product: SOUP
39. Sent, as a letter, by phone line: FAXED
40. Bring on, as an employee: HIRE
41. Fairy tale starter: ONCE
42. Suffered from a cut: BLED
43. Prison-related: PENAL
44. More nervously irritable: EDGIER
46. Sublet: RERENT
47. Confused: ATSEA
49. Soothsayer: SEER
51. More matronly in dress: DOWDIER
54. Most adroit: DEFTEST
59. ___ Baba: ALI
60. Romantic dinner reservation: TABLEFORTWO
62. Thick drain-cleaning option: GEL
63. Bottled water brand: EVIAN
64. Aired again: RERAN
65. Takeoff guesstimate: Abbr.: ETD
66. Silence markers, in music: RESTS
67. Track events: MEETS

down

1. Hand over: CEDE
2. Computer symbol: ICON
3. Joint inflammation: GOUT
4. ___ Longa, birthplace of Romulus and Remus: ALBA
5. Substitute for, as a pitcher: RELIEVE
6. Humiliate: ABASE
7. Journey segment: LEG
8. Lincoln and others, informally: ABES
9. Man in a robe: MONK
10. Popular charge card: OPTIMA
11. Small plane: TWINENGINE
12. Reduces to bits: RICES
13. Blue shade: AZURE
18. She, in Cherbourg: ELLE
22. Nor's partner: NEITHER
24. Persuaders: COAXERS
26. Old U.S. gasoline: ESSO
27. Gas light: NEON
28. Poker variation: DEUCESWILD
29. Blocked: IMPEDED
31. Born's partner: BRED
32. Itsy bit: TAD
34. After-Christmas event: SALE
36. Persia, now: IRAN
37. Hat fabric: FELT
39. Secretive org.: FBI
43. Play: PERFORM
45. Shoe style: GAITER
46. Coral formation: REEF
47. Saying: ADAGE
48. Sign in a boardinghouse window: TOLET
50. Perfect places: EDENS
52. Overhang: EAVE
53. Sluggers' stats: RBIS
55. Peach or beech: TREE
56. Raison d'___: ETRE
57. ___ team (police group): SWAT
58. Heaps: TONS
61. Counterpart of long.: LAT

Hints and full breakdown for May 23

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.