NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 1, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, December 1, 2007. 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.
Across clues & answers
- 23
- 26
- 37
- 43
Down clues & answers
- 15
- 39
- 40
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Friday, November 30, 2007
across
- 1. Show signs of improvement: LOOKBETTER
- 11. Second in a series: BETA
- 15. Indication of stress: UNDERSCORE
- 16. 1,575-mile river known to some locals as the Zhayyq: URAL
- 17. "Well, duh!": GEEYATHINK
- 18. Hitch: RIDE
- 19. Supra: EARLIER
- 20. Syrup of ___: IPECAC
- 22. Caustic: SNIDE
- 23. Sci-fi author McIntyre: VONDA
- 25. Bad ___, German resort: EMS
- 26. With eyes open: MINDFULLY
- 30. Mr. Levy of 1920s Broadway fame: ABIE
- 32. Holders of big pads: EASELS
- 33. Marker: IOU
- 34. W.S.J. subjects: COS
- 35. "It's ___!" ("You're on!"): ADATE
- 36. Alt. spelling: VAR
- 37. Slam: DIS
- 38. Dictionary data: USAGES
- 39. Minimal change: CENT
- 40. Cloth workers?: CLERGYMEN
- 42. Big-league: PRO
- 43. Sculptor Oldenburg: CLAES
- 44. Dive: JOINT
- 46. Game craze of the late 1980s and '90s: TETRIS
- 49. Direct: NONSTOP
- 51. Island nicknamed the Gathering Place: OAHU
- 52. Jump the gun: ANTICIPATE
- 55. Senior moment?: PROM
- 56. One who's happy when things look black: BOOKKEEPER
- 57. Blunt: SNUB
- 58. Undergo a change of habit?: CROSSDRESS
down
- 1. Olympics item ... or the winning word in the 1984 National Spelling Bee: LUGE
- 2. Civilians eligible to be drafted: ONEAS
- 3. ___ Line (German/Polish border): ODERNEISSE
- 4. Bitter fruit: KEYLIME
- 5. Queues: BRAIDS
- 6. Name on a bottle of Beyond Paradise: ESTEE
- 7. Sch. staffer: TCHR
- 8. French pronoun: TOI
- 9. Suffix with south: ERN
- 10. Sparks a second time: REKINDLES
- 11. Department: BUREAU
- 12. Greenland colonizer: ERIC
- 13. "I did it!": TADA
- 14. Pianist Templeton: ALEC
- 21. Visual PC-to-PC files: PDFS
- 23. Appearances: VISAGES
- 24. Classic Packard model with a numerical name: ONETEN
- 26. Pompadour, for one: MADAME
- 27. Prerecorded: LIVEONTAPE
- 28. Advance: LOAN
- 29. Tentlike dwelling with a conical roof: YURT
- 30. Like some electric circuits: ACDC
- 31. Be angry as heck: BOIL
- 32. "Nothing to it": EASYASABC
- 38. Hybrid fruit: UGLI
- 39. Where cooler heads prevail?: CRISPER
- 41. Fritz the Cat illustrator: RCRUMB
- 42. Paid (up): PONIED
- 44. Locker room habitués: JOCKS
- 45. Rain gear brand: TOTES
- 46. Maximally: TOPS
- 47. Pull down: EARN
- 48. Grand total?: THOU
- 49. Plural suffix with beat or neat: NIKS
- 50. Kind of pronoun: Abbr.: PERS
- 53. Clause connector: NOR
- 54. Unduly: TOO
More daily puzzle hints
- WordleGuess the five-letter word in six triesGuide & tips
- ConnectionsSort 16 words into four hidden groupsGuide & tips
- StrandsFind the themed words hidden in a letter gridGuide & tips
- Spelling BeeMake words from seven letters around a center letterGuide & tips
- Mini CrosswordA bite-size crossword you can finish over coffeeGuide & tips
- Connections: Sports EditionConnections with a sports-only word poolGuide & tips
- Letter BoxedChain words around a square using all 12 lettersGuide & tips
- Midi CrosswordThe mid-size crossword between the Mini and the dailyGuide & tips
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.