NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for October 3, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, October 3, 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
- 19
- 33
- 46
Down clues & answers
- 29
- 55
- 56
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, October 2, 2008
across
- 1. In a poem, it "perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door": RAVEN
- 6. Sing like Mel Tormé: SCAT
- 10. Use cue cards: READ
- 14. Slightly ahead: UPONE
- 15. Part of a military band: TUBA
- 16. ___ dixit: IPSE
- 17. Anxious baseball player at the plate?: BATTWIRLER
- 19. Talk like Daffy: LISP
- 20. Supermarket bagful: ICE
- 21. Great literature it's not: SMUT
- 22. Wallpaper and such: DECOR
- 23. "Big Sur" writer, 1962: KEROUAC
- 25. Worst in the worst way: TROUNCE
- 27. Sign above a luau buffet?: PICKYOURPOIS
- 29. Working factory, e.g.: ASSET
- 32. Actress Popplewell of "The Chronicles of Narnia": ANNA
- 33. ___ in victory: VAS
- 34. Hogwarts stick: WAND
- 35. High-school disrupters: GANGS
- 37. Big party: FETE
- 38. ___ premium: ATA
- 39. Out of order: DOWN
- 40. Broad valleys: DALES
- 41. Land of laughs?: YUKTERRITORY
- 45. Horace who founded the New York Tribune: GREELEY
- 46. They may be seen on slides: AMOEBAS
- 50. Certain resident of Yemen: ADENI
- 51. Ready: PREP
- 52. Home of Sault Ste. Marie: Abbr.: ONT
- 53. It may be held at a 39-Down: MAYO
- 54. Flood of ideas?: BRAINSURGE
- 57. Observer: EYER
- 58. Barn young 'un: CALF
- 59. Where to see "bombs bursting": INAIR
- 60. Flat sound: SSSS
- 61. One who wants you to put away everything he sets out: CHEF
- 62. Two-time Time Man of the Year (and a hint to 17-, 27-, 41- and 54-Across): NIXON
down
- 1. 1980s craze starter: RUBIK
- 2. Quickly: APACE
- 3. Campaign target: VOTER
- 4. Suffix with insist: ENT
- 5. Preinterview purchase, maybe: NEWSUIT
- 6. Lit, as a match: STRUCK
- 7. Zealot's group: CULT
- 8. Five-spot: ABE
- 9. Contents of some pits: TAR
- 10. Provoke: RILEUP
- 11. "War and Peace," e.g.: EPICNOVEL
- 12. Business partner: ASSOCIATE
- 13. Takes the starch out of: DEPRESSES
- 18. Product promoted as having both "beauty" and "brains": IMAC
- 22. Nickelodeon's explorer: DORA
- 24. Newspaper piece: OPED
- 25. Chinese secret society: TONG
- 26. Directs: RUNS
- 28. One-named New Age musician: YANNI
- 29. Road trip events: AWAYGAMES
- 30. Popular dates for dates: SATURDAYS
- 31. Loser at the dice table: SNAKEEYES
- 35. Blood: GORE
- 36. Out of whack: AWRY
- 37. Actress Dunaway: FAYE
- 39. Shop with 53-Across: DELI
- 40. Pays a visit: DROPSIN
- 42. Choir section: TENORS
- 43. Duty: TARIFF
- 44. Harbinger: OMEN
- 47. Powdered cleaning agent: BORAX
- 48. Hospital procedure, for short: ANGIO
- 49. Draconian: STERN
- 51. Washed out: PALE
- 54. Abbr. atop some e-mails: BCC
- 55. Cheering word: RAH
- 56. Sea urchin, at a sushi bar: UNI
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.