NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for March 14, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, March 14, 2011. 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
- 33
- 64
Down clues & answers
- 3
- 19
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Sunday, March 13, 2011
across
- 1. Roast V.I.P.'s: MCS
- 4. Overall composition?: DENIM
- 9. Military funeral concluder: TAPS
- 13. Cars with floor-mounted ignitions: SAABS
- 18. Density symbol, in physics: RHO
- 19. By itself: ALONE
- 20. Kaaba visitor's faith: ISLAM
- 22. Say grudgingly: ADMIT
- 23. "I suppose it might seem odd that a reverend like myself would suddenly begin ___ ...": MARRYINGTHEKALE
- 26. Top-___ (golf ball brand): FLITE
- 27. "Dirt cake" ingredients: OREOS
- 28. Equine-related: HORSY
- 29. Gun it: SPEEDUP
- 31. "... but I've always thought ___ had a more fun job than I do": MOSTPASTORS
- 35. "For an avid philatelist like me, sorting envelopes is thrilling - I might spot a ___!": STAIRRAMP
- 37. Kind of ceremony: AWARDS
- 38. Show no modesty: BOAST
- 39. Marvin of "Cat Ballou": LEE
- 40. Friday's rank: Abbr.: SGT
- 43. Had: ATE
- 44. Poor writer's scribblings?: IOUS
- 45. Indo-Europeans: ARYANS
- 48. "When a man is nervous about shipping breakables, I tell him, '___ carefully, sir' ...": CRACKYOURPATE
- 52. Domino's order: PIE
- 53. Whirlybird: CHOPPER
- 54. Actress Peeples: NIA
- 55. Big name in rum: BACARDI
- 59. Round-trippers, in sports lingo: HOMERS
- 60. "... and I write '___' on the box, which seems to reassure him": CANDLEWITHHAIR
- 64. Cambridgeshire's ___ Cathedral: ELY
- 65. Viking's destination: MARS
- 66. Don Juan's mother: INEZ
- 67. "___ had enough": IVE
- 68. "The best part of the job, of course, is when I'm out on the street ___": RAKINGMYMOUNDS
- 73. Drawers of war?: BOWMEN
- 76. Mesabi Range export: IRONORE
- 77. Tee-___: HEE
- 78. Remote place: NOWHERE
- 79. Food label no.: RDA
- 80. "I'm a bit leery of dogs - it's unsettling to enter a yard and hear some ___ at me ...": GROUNDHOWLING
- 84. From scratch: AFRESH
- 87. Lover of light: MOTH
- 88. Distress: AIL
- 89. Old inits. in telecommunication: GTE
- 90. Vegas casino hotel, with "the": RIO
- 91. The Bahamas' Great ___ Island: ABACO
- 93. Novel for which Sartre declined the Nobel Prize: NAUSEA
- 96. "... but dogs can't spoil how much I enjoy driving around in the ___": TRAILMUCK
- 99. "Homeowners get excited when they see me opening their ___ ...": BETTERLOCKS
- 104. Least bright: DENSEST
- 105. Eighty-eight: PIANO
- 107. Dry out: PARCH
- 108. "The Hot Zone" topic: EBOLA
- 109. "... and when I hand-deliver a package, the recipients are positively ___ - it's very satisfying!": CHILLEDWITHFEAR
- 114. Fountain drinks: COKES
- 115. Berry of "Frankie and Alice": HALLE
- 116. Histrionics: DRAMA
- 117. Poetic preposition: ERE
- 118. Daisy variety: OXEYE
- 119. Ugly situation: MESS
- 120. Matches timewise, informally: SYNCS
- 121. Acid: LSD
down
- 1. 1983 Michael Keaton comedy: MRMOM
- 2. Single-named "Hollywood Squares" regular: CHARO
- 3. Results of chafing: SORES
- 4. Place to get a facial: DAYSPA
- 5. Film director Roth: ELI
- 6. Tours turndown: NON
- 7. Having one sharp: ING
- 8. Manner: METHOD
- 9. Ziggurat features: TIERS
- 10. Interviews: ASKS
- 11. Finishes: PLAYSOUT
- 12. ___ ammoniac: SAL
- 13. More guarded: SAFER
- 14. Onetime Freud collaborator: ADLER
- 15. Queen in the "Star Wars" saga: AMIDALA
- 16. Asphalt ingredient: BITUMEN
- 17. Open terrain: STEPPES
- 21. Desert landforms: MESAS
- 24. Flummery: ROT
- 25. ___ de combat: HORS
- 30. It comes from the heart: PITAPAT
- 32. Comes to: AWAKES
- 33. Forest flutist: SATYR
- 34. Palm phone: TREO
- 36. Hit with a charge: TASE
- 38. Flapper's wrap: BOA
- 40. Bookish type: SCHOLAR
- 41. Soviet foreign affairs minister during the Cuban missile crisis: GROMYKO
- 42. Answering machine insert: TAPE
- 44. 2010 Apple release: IPAD
- 46. Rolling in green: RICH
- 47. Triumphant cry: YEAH
- 49. Revivalism?: CPR
- 50. Leave weaponless: UNARM
- 51. Bygone Tide rival: RINSO
- 53. French sweetie: CHERI
- 55. Industry, slangily: BIZ
- 56. Wardrobe items: RAIMENT
- 57. Fork: DIVERGE
- 58. Dunne of "My Favorite Wife": IRENE
- 60. Small island: CAY
- 61. It's closeted: LINEN
- 62. Put the kibosh on: ENDED
- 63. Film director Craven: WES
- 65. Title for de Staël: Abbr.: MME
- 69. On the subject of: INRE
- 70. Moves a head?: NODS
- 71. Golden ___ (General Mills product): GRAHAMS
- 72. "Forget it!": UHUH
- 73. Striking player: BOWLER
- 74. Symbol of Athena: OWL
- 75. Lincoln while in Congress, e.g.: WHIG
- 78. Babel: NOISE
- 80. Car financing inits.: GMAC
- 81. Where prisoners swing picks: ROCKPILE
- 82. Ear: Prefix: OTO
- 83. ___ monde: HAUT
- 84. Like the GE Building: ARTDECO
- 85. Locomotive furnace: FIREBOX
- 86. Lost Colony's island: ROANOKE
- 92. Companion of Rex and Rover: BUTCH
- 93. Bird that may nest on volcanic ash: NENE
- 94. Unable to agree: ATODDS
- 95. Pack leaders: ALPHAS
- 97. R&B's ___ Brothers: ISLEY
- 98. Car dealer's offering: LEASE
- 99. Farmland rolls: BALES
- 100. Bungling fool: OAF
- 101. Fishing accoutrement: CREEL
- 102. 1980s-'90s Chrysler offerings: KCARS
- 103. Iota: SHRED
- 106. Woes: ILLS
- 110. Mugger on stage: HAM
- 111. Not straight: WRY
- 112. Novelist McEwan: IAN
- 113. Station for cinephiles: TMC
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.