NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for July 18, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, July 18, 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
- 14
- 30
- 35
- 60
- 61
Down clues & answers
- 15
- 28
- 50
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, July 17, 2008
across
- 1. Salt or smoke: CURE
- 5. Starr of the Old West: BELLE
- 10. Boom: SPAR
- 14. Type type: Abbr.: ITAL
- 15. Bay window: ORIEL
- 16. ___ colada: PINA
- 17. Like a bell: RUNG
- 18. Pale purple: LILAC
- 19. Pancake Day is the day before this begins: LENT
- 20. Make rustle, as foil: CRINKLE
- 22. Writes odes to, e.g.: PRAISES
- 24. U.N. secretary general from Ghana: ANNAN
- 25. Not straight up: ATILT
- 26. Bits: IOTAS
- 29. Winter melon: CASABA
- 33. Colorful lawn or garden fixture: WHIRLIGIG
- 37. Soundtrack annoyance: LAG
- 38. Slithering danger: RATTLER
- 39. Hebrews, for example: EPISTLE
- 43. A pitcher should keep it low: ERA
- 44. Something you might want to get to the heart of?: ARTICHOKE
- 46. Annoy: NETTLE
- 50. Sale day feeling: MANIA
- 51. They cross here: WORDS
- 53. ___ salts: EPSOM
- 57. One of TV's Gilmore Girls: LORELAI
- 60. Unfolds: SPREADS
- 62. Pen pal in Paris, perhaps: AMIE
- 63. Agreement: UNITY
- 65. Exercised a legal option: SUED
- 66. Police protection: VEST
- 67. Doha's domain: QATAR
- 68. "___ This Last" (series of John Ruskin essays): UNTO
- 69. ___ place: ONES
- 70. Stood out, in a good way: SHONE
- 71. Say no: PASS
down
- 1. Around: CIRCA
- 2. Often-illegal maneuver: UTURN
- 3. Entered quickly: RANIN
- 4. Percussion instrument in an orchestra: ELGNAIRT
- 5. Cotton pod: BOLL
- 6. Pennsylvania's northwesternmost county: ERIE
- 7. One of TV's Rugrats: LIL
- 8. Bounded: LEAPT
- 9. Coterie: ELCRIC
- 10. Forks: SPLITS
- 11. "The Worst ___ in London" ("Sweeney Todd" song): PIES
- 12. Monarch immediately after William and Mary: ANNE
- 13. Headliner: RATS
- 21. Small hill: KNOLL
- 23. Mobile home?: Abbr.: ALA
- 25. "___ see it ...": ASI
- 27. Railroad crossbeam: TIE
- 28. Tourist city between Jaipur and Lucknow: AGRA
- 30. Middle range: ALTO
- 31. Hesitate: BALK
- 32. Author James: AGEE
- 33. Bird with speckled eggs: WREN
- 34. Fabled racer: HARE
- 35. "Take ___ face value": ITAT
- 36. "___ life!": GETA
- 40. Fraternity jewelry: PIN
- 41. More likely to cause slipping: ICIER
- 42. Quits misbehaving ... or a literal hint to 4-, 9-, 13-, 49- and 57-Down: SHAPESUP
- 45. Abbr. in real estate ads: RMS
- 47. Chirps: TWEETS
- 48. Ha-ha, nowadays: LOL
- 49. Unhip person: ERAUQS
- 52. Alice's pet cat in "Alice in Wonderland": DINAH
- 54. Hot spot: SAUNA
- 55. "The Country Girl" playwright, 1950: ODETS
- 56. Many PCs once ran on it: MSDOS
- 57. Racetrack: LAVO
- 58. Impending clouds, e.g.: OMEN
- 59. Small hill: RISE
- 60. Avant-garde filmmaker Brakhage: STAN
- 61. Funeral sight: PYRE
- 64. "What am ___ do?": ITO
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.