NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 3, 2009

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Saturday, January 3, 2009

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 3:23 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, January 3, 2009. 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.

72 clues · jump to Across or Down. Tap a tile for one letter, or Answer for the whole word.

Across clues & answers

1
Brewer Joseph
8
"America This Morning" outfit
15
"Comin' through loud and clear"
16
Region south of Silesia
17
Database search option
18
Curt comment to an ogler
19
Border line?
20
Hard bop, e.g.
22
Surpassed
23
Clothing store bargain fodder: Abbr.
25
Dwindle, as support
26
Greek goddess of youth
27
Move stealthily
29
Record letters
30
Like the Topoxte archaeological site
31
Setting for Joshua trees
33
Permits
35
Mistress of Charles II
37
Can
38
Where things get checked
42
Passed pleasantly
46
No place for a big rig
47
The following: Abbr.
49
Current terminus
50
Mixture
51
Magellan visited it
53
Participated in a pool, say
54
Suffix that may appear in a record
55
Language of central Mexico
57
About 20 pinches: Abbr.
58
Noted Venetian army general
60
People who may be removed
62
Potential cause of a wrongful conviction
63
Singer of the 1974 hit "I've Got the Music in Me"
64
Made with 39-Down, maybe
65
Stage production

Down clues & answers

Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.

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Friday, January 2, 2009

across

1. Problem in closing?: SALESRESISTANCE
16. Just before it's too late: THEELEVENTHHOUR
17. 1984 JoBeth Williams comedy/adventure film: AMERICANDREAMER
18. Ouija option: YES
19. Bucket seat feature: CONTOUR
20. Seventeen people, briefly: EDS
21. One whose deposits are often collected: HEN
22. Hit-making group?: MOB
24. Gazelle, at times: LOPER
27. Beetle's need: GAS
30. Grounded: BASED
34. One way to kick a bad habit: AVERSIONTHERAPY
37. It's a shore thing: PIER
38. Alice who wrote the short-story collection "Open Secrets": MUNRO
39. Utter collapse: RUIN
40. Preview crowd: INVITEDAUDIENCE
43. "... ye shall ___ more vanity": Ezekiel 13:23: SEENO
44. Social group member: ANT
45. Social group: CLASS
46. Instinctive: GUT
48. 1980s N.B.A. guard Matthews: WES
49. They look better when they're ripped: ABS
52. Like some cookie sheets: GREASED
56. I have, in Le Havre: JAI
59. Pressure points?: WEATHERSTATIONS
62. Who said "A hungry man is not a free man": ADLAIESTEVENSON
63. One who'd like to put you in your place: REALESTATEAGENT

down

1. Supporting piece: STAY
2. World-weary words: AHME
3. Refuse: LEES
4. Poet's ending with what or how: EER
5. They might be full of baloney: SLICERS
6. Brief scouting outing?: RECON
7. ___ and Jaron (identical-twins pop duo): EVAN
8. Posted: SENT
9. Prefix with Germanic: INDO
10. Not be picky with an instrument?: STRUM
11. First film in CinemaScope, 1953: THEROBE
12. Word associated with a light bulb: AHA
13. It's on Norton Sound: NOME
14. Given a line: CUED
15. Goes off: ERRS
21. Whitebait, e.g.: HERRING
23. Rodeo trio: BARRELS
24. Stone, to Caesar: LAPIS
25. Like a shepherd's charges: OVINE
26. Really get to: PEEVE
27. City NE of Rotterdam: GOUDA
28. Ban succeeded him in 2007: ANNAN
29. Supporting piece: STRUT
31. Luxury hotel amenity: SAUNA
32. Big pictures: EPICS
33. ___ per centimeter (surface tension measure): DYNES
35. George Harrison's "___ Mine": IME
36. V-shaped carrier: HOD
41. Real poser: TOUGHIE
42. Brewer's product: ICEDTEA
47. They have certain rings to them: TREES
48. Zigzag: WEAVE
49. Start ___ (be extremely aggressive): AWAR
50. Eliot hero: BEDE
51. A room with una vista?: SALA
53. Formerly archaic?: ERST
54. Fictional wirehair: ASTA
55. Decide to leave: STET
56. Cuban patriot Martí: JOSE
57. Like some sources: Abbr.: ANON
58. Abba's "Love ___ Easy": ISNT
60. Jazz guitarist Farlow: TAL
61. Like Mahler's Symphony No. 4: ING

Hints and full breakdown for Jan 2

More daily puzzle hints

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.