NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for August 21, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, August 21, 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
- 19
- 23
- 46
- 57
- 64
- 73
- 101
- 119
- 125
- 127
- 128
- 131
Down clues & answers
- 3
- 35
- 43
- 52
- 72
- 84
- 102
- 109
- 110
- 111
- 117
- 122
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, August 20, 2011
across
- 1. Indian home: HOGAN
- 6. Store: STASHAWAY
- 15. Gloucester and Kent, in "King Lear": EARLS
- 16. 1822 Walter Scott novel about Capt. Clement Cleveland: THEPIRATE
- 17. Its calling code is +39: ITALY
- 18. President Harding's Laddie Boy and others: AIREDALES
- 19. Elvis's and Mariah's record number of weeks at Billboard's #1: SEVENTYNINE
- 21. Big mouth: MAW
- 22. Carmen Sandiego cover-up?: TRENCHCOAT
- 23. 8 on the Beaufort scale: GALE
- 24. Until June 25, 2011, its first three digits had geographical significance: Abbr.: SSN
- 25. "Tempest" Golden Globe nominee Julia: RAUL
- 26. Purple: LURID
- 27. Lived in King James's era?: DWELT
- 29. "Jason Lives," e.g.: PARTVI
- 30. Notes in passing?: REQUIEM
- 33. Like the word "its," often: MISUSED
- 34. Crows: EXULTS
- 35. Ice cream case selections: PINTS
- 36. Take what one oughtn't: POACH
- 37. Weapon that comes in easy-to-carry and hard-to-carry varieties: MACE
- 38. Lacuna: GAP
- 41. Snarling, say: RUDE
- 42. Ursi maritimi: POLARBEARS
- 45. Place that shows placing and showing: Abbr.: OTB
- 46. Miami or Amsterdam, for example: GATEWAYCITY
- 47. Uniform shade: OLIVEDRAB
- 49. "Let's ___ there": NOTGO
- 50. Something one might be forced to wear at work: FAKESMILE
- 51. Top: ONEUP
- 52. Deal incentive: SWEETENER
- 53. Some of them are flukes: WORMS
down
- 1. Withdrawals that may incur substantial penalties?: HEISTS
- 2. Tom Mix vehicles: OATERS
- 3. Second Commandment word: GRAVEN
- 4. Wrench handle?: ALLEN
- 5. "It's Gonna Be Me" band of 2000: NSYNC
- 6. Emergency directive?: STAYCALM
- 7. Become sparse: THINOUT
- 8. From above: AERIAL
- 9. Blown: SPENT
- 10. Mask: HIDE
- 11. Constellation between Scorpius and Triangulum Australe: ARA
- 12. Supercenters, e.g.: WALMARTS
- 13. More than gnawed at: ATEALIVE
- 14. Celebratory chant at Chicago's Grant Park on 11/4/08: YESWEDID
- 20. Basketball long shots: THREES
- 23. Mavens: GURUS
- 26. In a bad place?: LAST
- 27. Sweet, to Scipio: DULCE
- 28. Dating: WITH
- 29. Sebastián ___ (president of Chile beginning in 2010): PINERA
- 30. Reprimands: REPROOFS
- 31. Gary Cooper played one in "Man of the West": EXOUTLAW
- 32. Certain ATV: QUADBIKE
- 33. Dickens character whose first name is Wilkins: MICAWBER
- 35. Blonde picked up at a bar?: PALEALE
- 37. "We feel your pain" sloganeer: MOTRIN
- 38. Ankle covering: GAITER
- 39. Kind of eraser: ARTGUM
- 40. "Hearts and minds" activities, in military slang: PSYOPS
- 42. Luke's mother in "Star Wars": PADME
- 43. Already: BYNOW
- 44. Tightwads' prefix: ECONO
- 46. Exploit: GEST
- 48. Capital of Victoria: VEE
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.