NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 20, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, January 20, 2008. 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
- 29
- 48
- 64
- 86
- 100
- 103
- 104
- 108
- 113
- 121
- 125
- 127
Down clues & answers
- 13
- 53
- 82
- 89
- 92
- 93
- 109
- 111
- 113
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, January 19, 2008
across
- 1. Mesoamericans of old: AZTECS
- 7. Mekong River sights: SAMPANS
- 14. Warm up, as leftovers: REHEAT
- 15. Freak out: HAVEACOW
- 16. Small cavity, as around a cactus spine: AREOLE
- 17. Embassy issue?: EXITVISA
- 18. Short cut: BOB
- 19. Look at a Playboy Club?: LEER
- 21. 1993 rap hit with the repeated lyric "Bow wow wow yippy yo yippy yay": DREDAY
- 22. Big name in sportswear: IZOD
- 24. Concordat: PACT
- 26. Role in a Tchaikovsky ballet: ODILE
- 27. Battlers, at times: SEXES
- 29. Fiat headquarters: TURIN
- 31. Part of many cultural venue names: Abbr.: CTR
- 32. Shrill: TREBLE
- 34. Long rides?: LIMOS
- 36. See 15-Down: ORIENTEXPRESS
- 40. Rise partly: SITUP
- 41. Echelons: STRATA
- 43. Gridiron stat: Abbr.: FGS
- 46. "Dead Souls" novelist: GOGOL
- 48. Platters' platters players: HIFIS
- 49. Indisposed: LOATH
- 51. Gulf of ___, body of water next to Viet Nam: SIAM
- 53. Bring down: FELL
- 54. Lit: ONFIRE
- 56. Jim Beam and others: RYES
- 58. Univ. of ___, alma mater of Joe Namath and Bart Starr: ALA
- 59. Infer: READINTO
- 61. Higher-priced: DEARER
- 63. Put on the line, perhaps: AIREDOUT
- 64. Sportscaster with the catchphrase "Oh, my!": ENBERG
- 65. Superlatively derogatory: SNIDEST
- 66. Having one's feet up, say: ATEASE
down
- 1. Mideast expert, maybe: ARABIST
- 2. Love all: ZEROZERO
- 3. Simon & Garfunkel hit after "Mrs. Robinson": THEBOXER
- 4. Affirmative action letters: EEO
- 5. ___ letters: CALL
- 6. Acclivitous: STEEP
- 7. Adolphe with an instrument named after him: SAX
- 8. Not blasé: AVID
- 9. New York City transportation option: METRONORTH
- 10. Hard-top: PAVED
- 11. Sharp: ACIDIC
- 12. Certain diet restriction: NOSALT
- 13. Influential one: SWAYER
- 15. Noted 36-Across passenger: HERCULEPOIROT
- 20. Down: EAT
- 23. Actress Mazar and others: DEBIS
- 25. Rabbit food?: TRIX
- 28. Christmas song favorite since 1949: SLEIGHRIDE
- 30. Little terrors: IMPS
- 33. Prefix with parasite: ENTO
- 35. Letter finisher: SERIF
- 37. Water towers?: TUGS
- 38. Refuge: SAFEAREA
- 39. Father-and-son comedic actors: STILLERS
- 42. Comparatively bulky: ASLARGE
- 43. Groups of plants: FLORAS
- 44. Entered: GONEIN
- 45. What a game plan leads to?: SAFARI
- 47. Romantic narrative: LAY
- 50. Helped, in a way, with "over": TIDED
- 52. Title role for Maria Callas in her only film: MEDEA
- 55. Mercury-Atlas 5 rider: ENOS
- 57. Turned on: SENT
- 60. When repeated, an old-fashioned cry: TUT
- 62. ___ Lyman & His California Orchestra, popular 1920s-'40s band: ABE
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.