NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 18, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, December 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
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 50
Down clues & answers
- 24
- 29
- 42
- 49
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
across
- 1. Inundated: AWASH
- 6. Trailblazed: LED
- 9. Caught congers, e.g.: EELED
- 14. Entrance: MESMERIZE
- 16. They may have a view of a bridge: XRAYS
- 17. Nut in a can of premium mixed nuts: MACADAMIA
- 18. Bitmap bit: PIXEL
- 19. On occasion: EVERYSOOFTEN
- 21. Salon job: TINT
- 22. "One ___ Soldier" (antiwar song): TIN
- 23. Yuppie ___ (chronic fatigue syndrome): FLU
- 26. Wind up: END
- 27. Yesteryear, nostalgically: GOODOLDDAYS
- 32. Some football linemen: Abbr.: RGS
- 33. Hyatt alternative: OMNI
- 34. "A Thousand Acres" novelist Smiley: JANE
- 35. Order of the Arrow members: BOYSCOUTS
- 39. Low-___ diet: CARB
- 42. Competitor of uBid: EBAY
- 43. Emergency PC key: ESC
- 46. Makes something better in a big way: DOESWONDERS
- 50. Kind of jacket: MAO
- 51. Tricky: SLY
- 52. Leatherworker's tool: AWL
- 53. Singer/songwriter Aimee: MANN
- 54. Ducky: FINEANDDANDY
- 59. One of the Gandhis: RAJIV
- 62. Sherwood Forest minstrel: ALANADALE
- 63. Like lapis lazuli: AZURE
- 64. "Two cents plain" drink: SODAWATER
- 65. Staff members, and what the circled letters in this puzzle represent: NOTES
- 66. Celestial Seasonings product: TEA
- 67. Suffix with road and speed: STERS
down
- 1. Electric gauge: AMMETER
- 2. Not staying in one's lane: WEAVING
- 3. Climbs: ASCENDS
- 4. Natty: SMART
- 5. Actress Lamarr: HEDY
- 6. Door-to-door delivery service?: LIMO
- 7. Opera singer Pinza: EZIO
- 8. Ignoring: DEAFTO
- 9. Lay out: EXPEND
- 10. Land o' leprechauns: ERIN
- 11. Not enforcing all the laws: LAX
- 12. CBS logo: EYE
- 13. Alternative to dial-up: DSL
- 15. ___ Tafari (Haile Selassie): RAS
- 20. ___ Tuesday (53-Across's pop band): TIL
- 23. "Black box" regulator: Abbr.: FAA
- 24. Former White House adviser Nofziger: LYN
- 25. Exhaust, with "up": USE
- 27. Schmaltz: GOO
- 28. "Peg ___ Heart": OMY
- 29. Turn-___ (thrills): ONS
- 30. Cut into small cubes: DICED
- 31. Spinners of the Spinners, e.g.: DJS
- 35. Air gun ammo: BBS
- 36. U.K. honor: OBE
- 37. Onetime Mideast letters: UAR
- 38. Game show host Treadway and others: TYS
- 39. Music store stock: CDS
- 40. "You've got mail" co.: AOL
- 41. Spain's Carlos I or II: REY
- 43. Spring: EMANATE
- 44. "Happy Gilmore" star, 1996: SANDLER
- 45. House Judiciary Committee chairman John: CONYERS
- 47. Gives up: WAIVES
- 48. "The devil looks after his ___": OWN
- 49. Div. for the Mets and Marlins: NLEAST
- 53. Angry with: MADAT
- 54. Boot: FIRE
- 55. First-aid salve: ALOE
- 56. Zippo: NADA
- 57. Some evidence: DNA
- 58. Crow cousins: DAWS
- 59. Fled or bled: RAN
- 60. ___ dye: AZO
- 61. Project: JUT
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.