NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, July 31, 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
- 21
- 43
- 46
- 48
- 55
- 56
Down clues & answers
- 13
- 32
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
across
- 1. Symbol of gentleness: LAMB
- 5. Goober ___: PEAS
- 9. Direction for playing a dirge: LENTO
- 14. Like some hygiene: ORAL
- 15. Homecoming returnee: ALUM
- 16. "It floats" sloganeer: IVORY
- 17. Home to Columbus: OHIO
- 18. Thompson of TV's "Family": SADA
- 19. Birth-related: NATAL
- 20. Part 1 of a quote attributed to Sam Goldwyn: FANTASTICAND
- 23. Partook of: ATE
- 24. Comb maker: BEE
- 25. Gangster's target, maybe: KNEECAP
- 29. Word part: Abbr.: SYL
- 30. Nervous: EDGY
- 31. Irish red, for one: ALE
- 32. Places for crow's-nests: MASTS
- 35. Blackthorn: SLOE
- 36. Stooges, e.g.: TRIO
- 37. Part 2 of the quote: ITWASALLWRITTEN
- 40. ___ undisclosed location: ATAN
- 41. Pest: PAIN
- 42. Horses of a certain color: ROANS
- 43. .001 inch: MIL
- 44. Rheinland residence: HAUS
- 45. Hardly a gulp: SIP
- 46. Kind of lettuce: ICEBERG
- 48. Foxtail feature: AWN
- 49. ___ candidate: PHD
- 52. End of the quote: WITHAFEATHER
- 55. Succotash ingredients: LIMAS
- 58. Trampled (on): TROD
- 59. Mixture: OLIO
- 60. "Wheel of Fortune" category: EVENT
- 61. Where St. Patrick's Day is a national holiday: EIRE
- 62. "___ and Monsters" (1998 film): GODS
- 63. "La Toilette" artist: DEGAS
- 64. Actress Charlotte and others: RAES
- 65. W.W. II foe: AXIS
down
- 1. Spa sponge: LOOFA
- 2. Enlightened Buddhist: ARHAT
- 3. "Murder, She Wrote" locale: MAINE
- 4. Inky mess: BLOT
- 5. Large quantity: PASSEL
- 6. Gladden: ELATE
- 7. Auto make owned by Volkswagen: AUDI
- 8. Wrestling show: SMACKDOWN
- 9. Leading lady Laura: LINNEY
- 10. Avoid: EVADE
- 11. "___ an option": NOT
- 12. ___-la: TRA
- 13. Popeye's Olive: OYL
- 21. Chasm: ABYSS
- 22. Reaction to a snub, maybe: ANGER
- 26. Magna ___: CARTA
- 27. Unfamiliar: ALIEN
- 28. Lowly types: PEONS
- 29. Laurel from England: STAN
- 30. ___ Island, museum site since 1990: ELLIS
- 32. City on Biscayne Bay: MIAMI
- 33. Dusty place, traditionally: ATTIC
- 34. Low marshland: SWALE
- 35. Cream: SLAUGHTER
- 36. Sporty car feature: TTOP
- 38. A sad way to grow: APART
- 39. Skater Slutskaya: IRINA
- 44. The job in "The Italian Job," and others: HEISTS
- 45. Early colonists along the Delaware: SWEDES
- 47. Swahili form of address: BWANA
- 48. Previous to, once: AFORE
- 49. Jacob's-ladder, for one: PHLOX
- 50. Shirley Temple title role: HEIDI
- 51. Cast-off material: DROSS
- 53. Verdi's "E il sol dell'anima," for one: ARIA
- 54. "Julius Caesar" costume: TOGA
- 55. Played the first card: LED
- 56. "Now ___ seen everything!": IVE
- 57. Computer unit, informally: MEG
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.