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NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for August 21, 2005

Sunday, August 21, 2005

By Last updated How we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, August 21, 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.

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

Across clues & answers

  1. 1

    It's the top

  2. 5

    Medieval chest

  3. 9

    Energy ___

  4. 13

    Ideally

  5. 19

    Puts in one's place

  6. 21

    Rwandan people

  7. 22

    Place to store food

  8. 23

    Hardly snug attire

  9. 25

    Take offense

  10. 26

    1967 war participant: Abbr.

  11. 27

    Harley, slangily

  12. 28

    Walruses and whales

  13. 30

    Marker

  14. 32

    Alternatives to lattes

  15. 34

    Messenger ___

  16. 35

    Hawaiian bigeye

  17. 37

    Dove, for one

  18. 46

    Some are hidden

  19. 49

    "If ___ you …"

  20. 50

    Light into

  21. 51

    The City of Churches

  22. 52

    Basketball commentator Dick

  23. 54

    Face trouble

  24. 55

    Lustrous fabrics

  25. 56

    What major retailers do

  26. 59

    Discomfit

  27. 60

    Ram

  28. 61

    Suffix with cine

  29. 62

    Effeminate

  30. 63

    Dramatic medium

  31. 66

    Car that won the 1939 and 1940 Indianapolis 500

  32. 69

    Journal ending

  33. 71

    National symbol of Wales

  34. 72

    Whittle

  35. 73

    Brown shade

  36. 76

    Works on a car's alignment?

  37. 80

    Arc producer

  38. 82

    Impertinent one

  39. 83

    Friend of Peppermint Patty

  40. 84

    Slip out of class

  41. 85

    Striped African animals

  42. 88

    Like the mumps

  43. 89

    Trials

  44. 90

    Store overseers

  45. 93

    Title of respect

  46. 94

    Actress Meyers

  47. 95

    "Mighty stream so deep and wide," in song

  48. 98

    To be, to Brutus

  49. 101

    Sleepovers

  50. 109

    Morgue, for one

  51. 111

    Bill producer, for short

  52. 112

    Literary critic Trilling

  53. 113

    Tabloid nickname for Sydney Biddle Barrows

  54. 116

    Largest city on the island Fyn

  55. 117

    AOL and others

  56. 118

    Remote power source?

  57. 119

    "The Kingdom and the Power" author

  58. 120

    "Out!"

  59. 121

    Article II subj.

  60. 122

    Requires

Down clues & answers

  1. 1

    Glaze for fish dishes

  2. 2

    Go at it

  3. 3

    Mr. Right, say

  4. 4

    Grp. setting standards

  5. 5

    Not standing

  6. 6

    Approximate

  7. 7

    100 lbs.

  8. 8

    Shortage of punch

  9. 9

    Blacken

  10. 10

    Tribe noted for its silver and turquoise jewelry

  11. 11

    Env. directive

  12. 12

    Stratagem

  13. 13

    Neighbor of Macedonia

  14. 14

    Places for taking off

  15. 15

    Cup part

  16. 16

    Source for Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung"

  17. 17

    Leave the shelves

  18. 18

    "___ intéressant"

  19. 20

    P.T.A. concern

  20. 24

    Coat, as metal, to reduce its chemical reactivity

  21. 29

    Actor who played Santa with Nancy Reagan in his lap

  22. 31

    Flogging

  23. 33

    Abbey area

  24. 36

    Emotionally withdrawn

  25. 38

    See 101-Down

  26. 39

    Subject heading in a hotel brochure

  27. 40

    Composer Khachaturian

  28. 41

    Disappointing return

  29. 42

    "The hour ___ hand"

  30. 43

    Community abutting Santa Monica

  31. 44

    Swedish taxonomist Carl von ___

  32. 45

    Gray lines?

  33. 46

    Very little

  34. 47

    Cartoonist Browne

  35. 48

    Pitches

  36. 51

    Computer pioneer Lovelace

  37. 53

    Film director ___ C. Kenton

  38. 56

    Schnoz site

  39. 57

    Plop preceder

  40. 58

    Case studies, e.g.

  41. 60

    Treat with honey

  42. 64

    Poivre's partner

  43. 65

    Crawl (with)

  44. 66

    Even out

  45. 67

    Boston-accented Harvard dropouts?

  46. 68

    Left over

  47. 69

    Derby locale

  48. 70

    Name with instant brand recognition?

  49. 72

    Peter O'Toole's role in "Troy"

  50. 74

    Cat sound

  51. 75

    The difference between what he said and what she said

  52. 77

    G.E. product: Abbr.

  53. 78

    Bluenose

  54. 79

    Spread unit

  55. 80

    Camel hazard?

  56. 81

    Fossilized

  57. 84

    Lanford Wilson's "The ___ Baltimore"

  58. 86

    Declaration before washing up

  59. 87

    Hillshire Farm's parent company

  60. 91

    Just beat

  61. 92

    "Sorry, Charlie"

  62. 96

    Loonlike bird

  63. 97

    Superstars walk around with them

  64. 99

    Grim

  65. 100

    Tube top honors

  66. 101

    With 38-Down, common device on "The Twilight Zone"

  67. 102

    "O patria mia" source

  68. 103

    Follower of Hosea

  69. 104

    Poet Sexton

  70. 105

    "Yellow Dog" author Martin

  71. 106

    Itch cause

  72. 107

    Toys for Tots, for example

  73. 108

    In case it's true

  74. 110

    911 responder: Abbr.

  75. 114

    Kind of cabinet

  76. 115

    ___ clip

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Previous The Crossword answer

Saturday, August 20, 2005

across

  • 1. Early release: BETA
  • 5. Island once controlled by Carthage: MALTA
  • 10. Lombardy's Lake ___: COMO
  • 14. 1993 Debra Winger drama based on a Mary McGarry Morris novel: ADANGEROUSWOMAN
  • 17. Having no redeeming features: ROTTENTOTHECORE
  • 18. Woody Allen film about cookie-making criminals: SMALLTIMECROOKS
  • 19. First name in Romanian tennis: ILIE
  • 20. Joel's seducer in "Risky Business": LANA
  • 21. Uses a paddle, perhaps: CANOES
  • 24. Misleads: FAKESOUT
  • 28. Improve: AMEND
  • 29. Cell alternative: PAGER
  • 30. Paternity determiner: DNA
  • 31. Features of TV weather forecasts: MAPS
  • 32. 30-Across may provide them: CLUES
  • 33. Children's author Lowry: LOIS
  • 34. Airline Web site stat.: ETA
  • 35. Cagers collect them: FOULS
  • 36. Special gift: FORTE
  • 37. Old master's medium: OILPAINT
  • 39. Mooring line: HAWSER
  • 40. One small step for a man?: RUNG
  • 41. Hang loose: LOLL
  • 42. "The Winslow Boy" playwright: TERENCERATTIGAN
  • 49. "By now you should know…": IVESAIDITBEFORE
  • 50. Reform opponents, often: VESTEDINTERESTS
  • 51. Not taken in by: ONTO
  • 52. Wrapped up: ENDED
  • 53. "___ Gone" (Hall & Oates hit): SHES

down

  • 1. Cell wall, perhaps: BARS
  • 2. Kingdom given to Esau: EDOM
  • 3. Parting word: TATA
  • 4. Pit-digging insects: ANTLIONS
  • 5. Compos ___: MENTIS
  • 6. Auerbach of the old "Jack Benny Show": ARTIE
  • 7. It generates material: LOOM
  • 8. Teaching relationships: TUTELAGES
  • 9. Southern cornbreads: ASHCAKES
  • 10. Après-ski orders: COCOAS
  • 11. Classic novel set in Tahiti: OMOO
  • 12. On your ___: MARK
  • 13. Certain column: ONES
  • 15. Became semirigid: GELLED
  • 16. Filmmaker Herzog: WERNER
  • 21. Brief appearance: CAMEO
  • 22. Valuable violin: AMATI
  • 23. Nation with a pentangular flag: NEPAL
  • 24. Poor service: FAULT
  • 25. Pets often have them: ODORS
  • 26. Fuse: UNITE
  • 27. Jolt deliverer: TASER
  • 29. Entered impetuously: PLUNGEDIN
  • 32. Concur: COINCIDE
  • 33. Despicable sorts: LOWLIFES
  • 35. Zoological groups: FAUNAE
  • 36. Suffer a moment of weakness: FALTER
  • 38. Fast: PRESTO
  • 39. Breeding ground: HOTBED
  • 41. Coffeehouse order: LATTE
  • 42. Time-shifting device: TIVO
  • 43. Equitable: EVEN
  • 44. Take a few minutes: REST
  • 45. Drink garnish: RIND
  • 46. "Holy cow!": GOSH
  • 47. Commedia dell'___: ARTE
  • 48. Scottish river to Moray Firth: NESS
Hints and full breakdown for Aug 20

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.