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NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 5, 2006

Thursday, January 5, 2006

By Last updated How we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, January 5, 2006. 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.

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

Across clues & answers

  1. 1

    With 70-Across, source of the quip at 21-, 39- and 58-Across

  2. 6

    Travels erratically

  3. 11

    They're missed by airballs

  4. 15

    Nancy's wealthy pal in the comics

  5. 16

    Actress Lindley of "Three's Company"

  6. 17

    Condo, e.g.

  7. 18

    Identity hider

  8. 19

    Brown-coated ermine

  9. 20

    Little: Prefix

  10. 21

    Start of a quip

  11. 24

    Cramp site

  12. 25

    Mini-albums, for short

  13. 26

    Banks on a runway

  14. 27

    Ed.'s request

  15. 28

    Popular ice cream

  16. 30

    Tony-winning Hagen

  17. 32

    Say "aloha," say

  18. 34

    A pair of rattlers

  19. 38

    Tiny channels

  20. 39

    Quip, part 2

  21. 41

    Lewis Carroll creature

  22. 43

    Part of a rare birth

  23. 44

    Thrusts out a lip or two

  24. 45

    Where a drive might start

  25. 46

    Criteria: Abbr.

  26. 50

    Syr. neighbor

  27. 51

    Country whose flag says "God is great"

  28. 55

    N.C.'s capital

  29. 57

    Abbr. after many a general's name

  30. 58

    End of the quip

  31. 62

    Padre's hermanas

  32. 63

    He played Krupa in "The Gene Krupa Story"

  33. 64

    Management counterpart

  34. 65

    Art Deco alias

  35. 66

    Rear-___

  36. 67

    With a full head of steam

  37. 68

    U.P.S. drivers have them

  38. 69

    Tosspots

  39. 70

    See 1-Across

Down clues & answers

  1. 1

    Revered answerer

  2. 2

    Did an aria

  3. 3

    Like sheets right out of a dryer

  4. 4

    "How sad!"

  5. 5

    Actress Perez

  6. 6

    What a pace horse is noted for

  7. 7

    It has strings attached

  8. 8

    "___ get it!"

  9. 9

    The doctor in "Daktari"

  10. 10

    Debaucher

  11. 11

    Jamaican spirits

  12. 12

    Per se

  13. 13

    One of the archangels

  14. 14

    Ordinal numbers in Los Angeles, e.g.

  15. 22

    Sudden growth

  16. 23

    "No argument here"

  17. 29

    On the ball

  18. 31

    Service expert?

  19. 33

    Ugly scenes

  20. 35

    Warmly welcomes

  21. 36

    In ___ of anger

  22. 37

    Higher-ups

  23. 39

    Achievement honoree

  24. 40

    Collect slowly

  25. 41

    Camel, notably

  26. 42

    Start of a warning sign for restaurant customers

  27. 47

    Like some elders

  28. 48

    Without, with "of"

  29. 49

    Laurence who wrote "A Sentimental Journey"

  30. 52

    Winter coats

  31. 53

    Kind of group, in chemistry

  32. 54

    Speaker's finale

  33. 56

    1980's-90's Emmy-winning drama

  34. 59

    Takes advantage of

  35. 60

    Uncool sort

  36. 61

    Suspense novelist ___ Hoag

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Previous The Crossword answer

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

across

  • 1. DNA half: HELIX
  • 6. Went over like ___ of bricks: ATON
  • 10. Plunder: LOOT
  • 14. Hold forth: ORATE
  • 15. Curb: REIN
  • 16. Ninth in a series: IOTA
  • 17. Geographical combo #1: SARASOTALEIPZIG
  • 20. Series finale: ETAL
  • 21. Catchall category: Abbr.: MISC
  • 22. Lock: TRESS
  • 23. Goddess with cow's horns: ISIS
  • 25. Way back when: ONCE
  • 27. Geographical combo #2: CALCUTTALEHAVRE
  • 34. "Family Ties" mother: ELYSE
  • 35. CD follower: ROM
  • 36. Went kaput: DIED
  • 37. Island chain?: LEI
  • 38. Easy run: DOGTROT
  • 42. M. : France :: ___ : Italy: SIG
  • 43. Diving raptors: ERNS
  • 45. Luau serving: POI
  • 46. Barely ahead: UPONE
  • 48. Geographical combo #3: BOGOTALENINGRAD
  • 52. Snitched: TOLD
  • 53. "A Book of Verses underneath the Bough" poet: OMAR
  • 54. Optometrist's field: SIGHT
  • 57. Part of a casa: SALA
  • 59. Pro's rival: ANTI
  • 63. Classic novel, following "A," with a literal hint to 17-, 27- and 48-Across: TALEOFTWOCITIES
  • 66. Food thickener: AGAR
  • 67. Swabbies: TARS
  • 68. Stick-on: DECAL
  • 69. Portend: BODE
  • 70. Prohibitionists: DRYS
  • 71. Fred's dancing sister: ADELE

down

  • 1. Firefighter's need: HOSE
  • 2. Middle of Q.E.D.: ERAT
  • 3. Yuri's love, in "Doctor Zhivago": LARA
  • 4. Slanted writing: ITALICS
  • 5. Illiterates' signatures: XES
  • 6. Drawer: ARTIST
  • 7. Waiter's after-dinner offerings: TEAS
  • 8. 6-Down purchase: OILCOLOR
  • 9. Dir. from Columbus, Ga., to Columbus, Ohio: NNE
  • 10. "Listen" without hearing: LIPREAD
  • 11. Opposite of gush: OOZE
  • 12. "Miss ___ Regrets": OTIS
  • 13. Plates: TAGS
  • 18. Bypass: OMIT
  • 19. Result of an insect bite: ITCH
  • 24. Courted ... or used the courts: SUED
  • 26. Nautilus captain: NEMO
  • 27. V.I.P.: CELEB
  • 28. Olds offering: ALERO
  • 29. Perjury: LYING
  • 30. Bandleader Shaw: ARTIE
  • 31. Golfer's wear: VISOR
  • 32. Isabella, por ejemplo: REINA
  • 33. Barely beat: EDGED
  • 39. Australian export: OPAL
  • 40. Kindergarten commendation: GOLDSTAR
  • 41. Bluefin or yellowfin: TUNA
  • 44. "What'd I tell ya?!": SOTHERE
  • 47. Like many family flicks: PGRATED
  • 49. Fictional dog from Kansas: TOTO
  • 50. "I didn't care about that anyway": NOLOSS
  • 51. Apple of many colors: IMAC
  • 54. Wild guess: STAB
  • 55. Moor's betrayer: IAGO
  • 56. Bag brand: GLAD
  • 58. Haywire: AWRY
  • 60. "Way to go!": NICE
  • 61. Blue hue: TEAL
  • 62. Tropical stop: ISLE
  • 64. Bouquet business: FTD
  • 65. Cider girl of song: IDA
Hints and full breakdown for Jan 4

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.