NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 22, 2007

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Saturday, December 22, 2007

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 3:30 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, December 22, 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.

56 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.

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Friday, December 21, 2007

across

1. Musical genre that uses a flatted fifth: BEBOP
6. Violin attachments: CHINRESTS
15. It vibrates during snoring: UVULA
16. Novel that nobody reads: AUDIOBOOK
17. Three-time U.S. presidential candidate: NADER
18. Net sales?: ECOMMERCE
19. Multigallon container: GASTANK
21. Grave mound: BARROW
22. Hostage holder: CAPTOR
23. Endearing, as a smile: WINSOME
24. King's successor as S.C.L.C. president: ABERNATHY
27. Shrink: COWER
28. Member of the 500 Home Run Club: SOSA
29. Cannibal of Anglo-Saxon legend: GRENDEL
31. "Science made clear": Cocteau: ART
32. Stole, slangily: BOOSTED
33. Sweetums: LUV
36. Perseveres: HANGSON
37. You may need it going in: VISA
38. Union station?: ALTAR
41. Seven-foot star of 1960s TV: GENTLEBEN
43. They may raise some people's spirits: SEANCES
45. Films that require a lot of shooting?: OATERS
46. Sentence ender: PARDON
47. Their work stinks: TANNERS
49. What a lack of evidence of forced entry might indicate: INSIDEJOB
51. Send to the front?: DRAFT
53. Unchangeable situation: STALEMATE
54. Van ___ ("Jump" band): HALEN
55. Orthodox Church council: HOLYSYNOD
56. Inception: ONSET

down

1. Roll: BUN
2. Actress who was the voice of Duchess in "The Aristocats": EVAGABOR
3. The Pearl of the Danube: BUDAPEST
4. Sucrose polyester, more familiarly: OLESTRA
5. "Travelin' Thru" singer: PARTON
6. City largely destroyed by the Normandy campaign: CAEN
7. Literary pal of Tom: HUCK
8. Witness statement: IDO
9. Rain clouds: NIMBI
10. Worked one's wiles on: ROMANCED
11. Longtime NBC sports exec: EBERSOL
12. "Man of Constant ___" (old folk standard): SORROW
13. On the way: TOCOME
14. Stick on the grill: SKEWER
20. One of Ferdinand II's kingdoms: ARAGON
22. House on a hacienda: CASA
23. One of the Marsalis brothers: WYNTON
25. "Wild Thing" band, with "the": TROGGS
26. 1946 Literature Nobelist: HESSE
30. University of North Texas home: DENTON
32. Product lines?: BARCODES
33. Who's left?: LIBERALS
34. Assessment paid only by those who benefit: USERSFEE
35. Moving vehicles: VANS
36. Without apparent effort: HANDILY
37. Bonus Army member: VETERAN
38. Venomous: ASPISH
39. Cabin addition: LEANTO
40. Heel bone, e.g.: TARSAL
42. Bridge declaration: LANDHO
44. "Politics is the ___ of the imagination": Ian McEwan: ENEMY
47. Oz visitor: TOTO
48. Supine, possibly: ABED
50. Dutch painter Steen: JAN
52. "We Know Drama" sloganeer: TNT

Hints and full breakdown for Dec 21

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.