NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 20, 2011

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Friday, May 20, 2011

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 3:09 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, May 20, 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.

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

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

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

WhatsApp X Reddit

Previous The Crossword answer

Thursday, May 19, 2011

across

1. Wall St. deal: LBO
4. Departure announcement?: OBIT
8. ___ City, Fla.: PANAMA
14. Two-time Art Ross Trophy winner: ORR
15. One who's left holding the bag?: HOBO
16. Warren Buffett, by birth: OMAHAN
17. "Wheel of Fortune" spinner's cry: BIGMONEY
19. Three-time Tour de France winner: LEMOND
20. Bar in a bathroom: SOAP
21. Nuclear power: ATOMICENERGY
23. Beverage that once offered a Luau flavor: NEHI
25. Bars in a checkout line, briefly: UPC
26. City or county of New Mexico: TAOS
27. Member of a 1990s pop quintet: SPICEGIRL
30. "Oh man, you're killing me!": HAHA
32. H.S. math course: ALG
33. Destitution: NEED
35. Any member of 36-Down: RAPPER
39. Quit trying, in slang: BAGIT
41. Canine command: SICEM
43. Prefix with science: NEURO
44. Open, in a way: UNSNAP
46. [I'm bored]: YAWN
48. Dribble guard: BIB
49. When repeated, aerobic instructor's cry: STEP
51. White House pair in the 1960s: BEAGLES
53. Ancient Persian: MEDE
56. Goethe's "The ___-King": ERL
58. "___ the brinded cat hath mew'd": "Macbeth": THRICE
59. Photocells: ELECTRICEYES
62. Put ___ act: ONAN
65. Ex ___: LIBRIS
66. Drink cooler ... or a hint to six squares in this puzzle's answer: CRUSHEDICE
68. Moolah: DOREMI
69. Stir up: ROIL
70. Campus on the Charles: Abbr.: MIT
71. ___ Island: STATEN
72. Concerning: ASTO
73. "Woo-hoo!": YAY

down

1. High hits: LOBS
2. Liveliness: BRIO
3. They're not laid in a cage: ORGANICEGGS
4. "Look what we have here!": OHO
5. Neighbor of Aruba: BONAIRE
6. "Yeah, right!": IBET
7. End of a "happy birthday" message: TOYOU
8. Black-and-white: POLICECAR
9. Hymn ender: AMEN
10. Camp clothing attachment: NAMETAPE
11. Now, in Nogales: AHORA
12. Chutney ingredient, maybe: MANGO
13. Some boy dolls: ANDYS
18. Compressed video file format: MPEG
22. The "60" in "going 60": Abbr.: MPH
24. Suggest: HINTAT
27. "Elephant Boy" boy: SABU
28. Blueprint: PLAN
29. Aix-___-Bains, France: LES
31. Mrs. Van Buren: HANNAH
34. Touch-and-go: DICEY
36. See 35-Across: PUBLICENEMY
37. Buffalo's county: ERIE
38. Swindles: ROBS
40. On the q.t.: INSECRET
42. Queen in Shelley's poetry: MAB
45. Sneaks a peek through a window: PEERSIN
47. Diver's wear: WETSUIT
50. Part of C.P.I.: PRICE
52. Actor David of "Rhoda": GROH
53. Pinochle combos: MELDS
54. "Adam Bede" novelist: ELIOT
55. Messing on the screen: DEBRA
57. Elastic fiber: LYCRA
60. What cons do: TIME
61. Love child?: EROS
63. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA
64. Fine point: NICETY
67. ___-mo: SLO

Hints and full breakdown for May 19

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.