NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for March 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Wednesday, March 16, 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
- 17
- 24
- 29
- 40
- 46
Down clues & answers
- 4
- 35
- 54
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
across
- 1. Actor whose original name was Laurence Tureaud: MRT
- 4. Some muscles or sorority women, informally: DELTS
- 9. Actress Rogers: MIMI
- 13. Green light: YES
- 14. Sioux adversary: OMAHA
- 15. Blitzed: RANAT
- 16. Composer of 20-Across: BEETHOVEN
- 18. Annual athletic awards: ESPYS
- 19. When Othello kills himself: ACTV
- 20. Work by 16-Across: ODETOJOY
- 22. Can't stomach: DESPISE
- 26. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc.: EVENS
- 27. Prod: EGGON
- 28. "Still Life - Fast Moving" artist: DALI
- 29. Band with low numbers, in brief: VHF
- 31. ___ use (worthless): OFNO
- 33. U.S.A.F. rank: LTCOL
- 37. They're difficult to grasp: EELS
- 39. What to watch the Beeb on: TELLY
- 42. Alarmed squeals: EEKS
- 43. "Here, have one": TRYIT
- 45. Pulitzer winner Maureen: DOWD
- 47. Tendency for one's mind to wander, for short: ADD
- 48. Learn fast, maybe: CRAM
- 51. Midsize bra features: CCUPS
- 53. Dilapidated: SEEDY
- 54. Least clear, as a memory: HAZIEST
- 57. How the circled letters of 20-Across are played: INCMAJOR
- 60. Ali, before he was Ali: CLAY
- 61. "No ___!" ("Of course!"): DOUBT
- 62. Items you might play 20-Across on: PIANOKEYS
- 66. Rice-sized pastas: ORZOS
- 67. Acquired relative: INLAW
- 68. "___ 'nuff!": SHO
- 69. Slothful: LAZY
- 70. Best competitive effort, informally: AGAME
- 71. Do something wrong: SIN
down
- 1. "Whoops!": MYBAD
- 2. Volleyball champion/model Gabrielle: REECE
- 3. Small biter in Niger: TSETSEFLY
- 4. "I am an idiot!": DOH
- 5. Rock music genre: EMO
- 6. John: LAV
- 7. TV's Kojak: THEO
- 8. Smoothed, as wood: SANDED
- 9. Composite board material: MASONITE
- 10. Dressed for bed, briefly: INPJS
- 11. Month after abril: MAYO
- 12. Not big at all, informally: ITSY
- 15. Share again, as a story: RETELL
- 17. Rating for most episodes of "The Simpsons": TVPG
- 21. Actress ___ Marie Saint: EVA
- 23. "Where did ___ wrong?": IGO
- 24. Downy: SOFT
- 25. -trix alternative: ENNE
- 29. Dog doc: VET
- 30. Every other hurricane: HER
- 32. So last year: OLD
- 34. Unending: CEASELESS
- 35. Green-lit: OKD
- 36. Trip producer: LSD
- 38. Order to Rex: SICEMBOY
- 40. Fishing spot for Scots: LOCH
- 41. Feminine org. since the 1850s: YWCA
- 44. Dog biscuits, e.g.: TREATS
- 46. "Eazy-___-It" (double-platinum album by Eazy-E): DUZ
- 49. Small, medium or large: Abbr.: ADJ
- 50. Shortsightedness: MYOPIA
- 52. Horse on a ticket: PICK
- 53. Dirt, slangily: SCUZZ
- 55. Give a greeting: SAYHI
- 56. He said about an opponent "My main objective is to be professional but to kill him": TYSON
- 57. Fox hit since 2002, informally: IDOL
- 58. Writer Ephron: NORA
- 59. Circus or wedding staple: RING
- 63. ___ king: ALA
- 64. Ho Chi Minh Trail locale, for short: NAM
- 65. Have bills: OWE
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.