NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 11, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Wednesday, May 11, 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
Down clues & answers
- 10
- 18
- 44
- 53
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
across
- 1. Situps tone them: ABS
- 4. Bounded along: LOPED
- 9. Assists and steals: STATS
- 14. Lingerie buy: BRA
- 15. Place to play or fight: ARENA
- 16. Sic on: LETAT
- 17. Paper Mate product: BALLPOINT
- 19. One with dreadlocks, perhaps: RASTA
- 20. Obstinate animals: ASSES
- 21. 180, slangily: UIE
- 23. Stand for: MEAN
- 24. Ruler deposed in 1979: SHAH
- 25. Hoops play maker: POINTGUARD
- 28. Responded sheepishly?: BAAED
- 30. Trackers and Prizms, once: GEOS
- 31. Junkyard's security, maybe: GUARDDOG
- 34. Verboten: TABOO
- 38. Massachusetts' Cape ___: ANN
- 39. Religious dissenter: HERETIC
- 42. Former Ford model: LTD
- 43. Magritte's "___ Fixe": LIDEE
- 45. Place for one in disfavor, so to speak: DOGHOUSE
- 47. St. Louis attraction: ARCH
- 50. "___ the World": WEARE
- 51. Sherwin-Williams offering: HOUSEPAINT
- 55. Barely open: AJAR
- 58. Feminine ending: ENNE
- 59. Coffee server: URN
- 60. Last Oldsmobile made: ALERO
- 61. Beethoven's "Für ___": ELISE
- 63. Indoor or outdoor war game: PAINTBALL
- 66. Yoga position: LOTUS
- 67. Young hooter: OWLET
- 68. Once known as: NEE
- 69. Won all the games in a series: SWEPT
- 70. Down on one's luck: NEEDY
- 71. Draft org.: SSS
down
- 1. Palestinian leader Mahmoud ___: ABBAS
- 2. Full of chutzpah: BRASH
- 3. Entertainment at many a Cuban wedding: SALSABAND
- 4. Pool units: LAPS
- 5. Guadalajara gold: ORO
- 6. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame designer: PEI
- 7. Ho-hum feeling: ENNUI
- 8. Seeing socially: DATING
- 9. Camera type, for short: SLR
- 10. Olympics squad in red, white and blue: TEAMUSA
- 11. Totally baffled: ATSEA
- 12. Mongol invader: TATAR
- 13. Put up with: STAND
- 18. "The Merry Widow" composer Franz: LEHAR
- 22. Summer on the Seine: ETE
- 25. Word ending meaning "foot": PEDE
- 26. Sign of decay: ODOR
- 27. "Aha!": GOTCHA
- 29. Stick fast: ADHERE
- 31. Guy's square-dance partner: GAL
- 32. Prefix with cycle or sex: UNI
- 33. Option for a H.S. dropout: GED
- 35. Casual pants: BLUEJEANS
- 36. Some tiebreakers, briefly: OTS
- 37. Laudatory lines: ODE
- 40. Burg: TOWN
- 41. "___ the picture!": IGET
- 44. Goes lighter (on): EASESUP
- 46. Big name in dental hygiene: ORALB
- 48. PC's "brain": CPU
- 49. Talk incessantly about: HARPON
- 51. Loaf or loafer parts: HEELS
- 52. At the minimum setting: ONLOW
- 53. Form a bloc: UNITE
- 54. Floored: INAWE
- 56. Setting for some van Goghs: ARLES
- 57. Some are walk-on: ROLES
- 60. Court fig.: ATTY
- 62. Superlative finish: EST
- 64. ___ de France: ILE
- 65. ___ Beatty, Oscar nominee for "Network": NED
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.