NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 24, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, December 24, 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
- 21
- 43
Down clues & answers
- 31
- 39
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Sunday, December 23, 2007
across
- 1. Literary slips: ERRATA
- 7. Lost: MISLAID
- 14. Grade school administration, maybe: IQTEST
- 20. Joint: REEFER
- 21. Former Acura model: INTEGRA
- 22. Fashion's Bartley: LUELLA
- 23. Start of a holiday verse: SANTASHADANEASYSEASON
- 26. Locks: TRESSES
- 27. 10%: TITHE
- 28. "___ Gold" (1997 film): ULEES
- 29. Suffix with respond: ENT
- 30. Way overdue to take off?: OBESE
- 32. Former Japanese P.M. Shinzo ___: ABE
- 34. "Being and Nothingness" writer: SARTRE
- 38. About: ANENT
- 39. Area for a reupholsterer: ARMREST
- 43. Comment made with a nod: ISEE
- 44. "___ alternative ...": ASAN
- 45. "Pay ___ mind": ITNO
- 46. Insect repellent: DEET
- 48. Verse, part 2: LYINGINHISBIGRECLINER
- 54. Author Deighton: LEN
- 55. ___ the mistletoe: UNDER
- 56. Audibly: ALOUD
- 57. Expiate, with "for": ATONE
- 58. Nicholas and others: Abbr.: STS
- 59. Ticks off: IRES
- 60. Church part: SPIRE
- 61. Intrinsically: PERSE
- 62. A.A.A. recommendations: Abbr.: RTES
- 63. Sandwich shop orders: PITAS
- 64. Lumber: PLOD
- 66. "The Sandbox" playwright: ALBEE
- 69. "What to do? What to do?" feeling: PANIC
- 70. Brown: SEAR
- 71. Young amphibian: EFT
- 74. Flora and fauna: BIOTA
- 75. Some sorority sisters: IOTAS
- 76. Implied: TACIT
- 77. Christmas ___: PIE
- 78. Verse, part 3: IFYOUASKHIMFORAREASON
- 82. Archer William: TELL
- 83. Fannie ___ (investing options): MAES
- 84. Theodemocratic state: IRAN
- 85. Up ___ good: TONO
- 86. Porters: REDCAPS
- 88. Popular cuisine: CAJUN
- 90. Unemotional type, slangily: ICEMAN
- 92. Certain soldier: ANT
- 93. "Little Miss Sunshine" co-star: ARKIN
- 94. Mentalist Geller: URI
- 95. Dangerous seepage: RADON
- 99. Decorative gateway in Japan: TORII
- 101. Classic role played by Gérard Depardieu in "The Man in the Iron Mask": PORTHOS
- 106. End of the verse: EVERYTOYISMADEINCHINA
- 111. Jack of "The Apartment": LEMMON
- 112. Fruitcake and plum pudding, e.g.: EDIBLES
- 113. Tickles: ELATES
- 114. Source of "we three kings": ORIENT
- 115. Puts a new bottom on: RESOLES
- 116. Blocks: DETERS
down
- 1. Once, old-style: ERST
- 2. Where the bag of gifts is stowed on a sleigh: REAR
- 3. Auberjonois of "The Christmas Star": RENE
- 4. Times in classifieds: AFTS
- 5. Promo, perhaps: TEASER
- 6. Fictional detective Lupin: ARSENE
- 7. "Mamma ___!": MIA
- 8. Home of Christmas Lake Village: Abbr.: IND
- 9. RR stop: STA
- 10. Of fast times?: LENTEN
- 11. Discriminating sort, in a way: AGEIST
- 12. Heated: IRATE
- 13. Word repeated in "Now ___ away! ___ away! ___ away ...!": DASH
- 14. French pronoun: ILS
- 15. Line former: QUEUER
- 16. Green-blue: TEAL
- 17. "Anything ___?": ELSE
- 18. Blue-black berrylike fruit: SLOE
- 19. Whips: TANS
- 24. F.D.R.'s successor: HST
- 25. Longed (for): YEARNED
- 30. Studio sign: ONAIR
- 31. Uncle ___: BENS
- 33. Univ. QB, perhaps: BMOC
- 34. Grammy and Emmy-winning soprano: SILLS
- 35. Until now: ASYET
- 36. Straps in a sleigh: REINS
- 37. Number of lords a-leaping: TEN
- 38. Grate-ful?: ASHES
- 39. Based on ___ story: ATRUE
- 40. Made a long story short?: EDITED
- 41. Title in Toledo: SENOR
- 42. Difficult period: TEENS
- 44. Big range: ANDES
- 45. Stravinsky and others: IGORS
- 47. Christmas ___: TREE
- 49. Garfield's assassin: GUITEAU
- 50. Memo starter: INRE
- 51. Initiation rite: BAPTISM
- 52. Kind of artery: ILIAC
- 53. French-named city on Galveston Bay: LAPORTE
- 60. Mideast desert: SINAI
- 62. Like the Christmas story, often: RETOLD
- 63. What snow shovels may produce: PATHS
- 64. Christmas cookie ingredient: PECAN
- 65. Cub's place: LAIR
- 66. Some: ABIT
- 67. Career soldier: LIFER
- 68. Peter of "Everybody Loves Raymond": BOYLE
- 69. Elbows: POKES
- 70. It's a wrap: SARAN
- 71. ___ salts: EPSOM
- 72. Singer Apple: FIONA
- 73. Joint part: TENON
- 75. Will likely: ISAPTTO
- 76. "Born ___": TORUN
- 79. "Walk Like ___": AMAN
- 80. Part of Captain Cook's explorations: FIJI
- 81. Had: ATE
- 87. Rafting area: CANYON
- 88. Big pickle?: CRISIS
- 89. Out-elbowed?: AKIMBO
- 90. Pressed: IRONED
- 91. Group: CIRCLE
- 93. Take for ___: ARIDE
- 94. News source, for short: UPI
- 95. Move, in Realtor-speak: RELO
- 96. Swear: AVER
- 97. Moore of "G.I. Jane": DEMI
- 98. "Coffee, Tea ___?": ORME
- 100. Court hearing: OYER
- 102. "Take ___!": THAT
- 103. Author Shere: HITE
- 104. Lulu: ONER
- 105. Lip: SASS
- 107. Big bang maker: TNT
- 108. Word left off the end of the clue at 13-Down: ALL
- 109. Poor grade: DEE
- 110. Satisfactory grade, in kindergarten: ESS
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.