NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 12, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, December 12, 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
- 10
- 33
- 35
- 48
- 50
- 64
Down clues & answers
- 18
- 56
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Sunday, December 11, 2011
across
- 1. Knives, forks and spoons: FLATWARE
- 6. Jackson and Reno: JANETS
- 12. Where a plant or animal thrives: NATURALHABITAT
- 20. Shakespearean nobleman: TIMON
- 21. Wipes out: ERASES
- 22. Spanish conquistador who searched for the Seven Cities of Gold: CORONADO
- 23. Taking too much: ODING
- 24. Reassure that one's joking, in a way: WINKAT
- 25. Aesthete: ARTLOVER
- 26. Little shavers at school?: PENCILSHARPENERS
- 28. Northern sympathizer: UNIONIST
- 29. ___ moment's notice: ONA
- 30. Tucker out: TIRE
- 31. Bone: Prefix: OSSE
- 32. Just recently: OFLATE
- 35. Maternally related: ENATE
- 37. Knoll: RISE
- 39. Like trenchant wit: RAZORSHARP
- 45. Paper tray size: Abbr.: LTR
- 46. Mercedes sedan: ECLASS
- 48. Potpourri: HASH
- 50. Burrowing rodents: VOLES
- 51. Home in the woods: DEN
- 52. Kin: Abbr.: RELS
- 53. Radiohead frontman Yorke: THOM
- 55. Cockamamie: ASININE
- 57. Extraordinary and unexplainable: PRETERNATURAL
- 59. Play sentinel: KEEPASHARPLOOKOUT
- 61. Fix, as a fairway: RESOD
- 62. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" author: AUEL
- 63. Southern university whose campus is a botanical garden: ELON
- 64. Table scraps: ORTS
- 65. Economic woe: HYPERINFLATION
- 69. Burns, e.g.: SCOT
- 73. Ones pictured in corp. reports: CEOS
- 74. Newspaper units: Abbr.: COLS
- 75. Body of water in a volcanic crater, for one: NATURALLAKE
- 76. Group that doesn't believe in revolution?: FLATEARTHSOCIETY
- 82. #2 or #3: ALSORAN
- 84. "Get it?": CAPEESH
- 85. "Lohengrin" soprano: ELSA
- 86. Fixed price: FLATFEE
- 87. Quick inning enders, for short: DPS
- 88. Walled city of Spain: AVILA
- 89. Key: ISLE
- 91. Modernize the plant: RETOOL
- 93. Trademarked marker: SHARPIE
- 94. Spheres: REALMS
- 96. ___-Alt-Del: CTRL
- 98. Gusto: VERVE
- 99. Draft inits.: SSS
- 100. Goddess with a headdress depicting a throne: ISIS
- 102. Killed, as a test: ACED
- 104. Former transportation regulation agcy.: ICC
- 106. Dangers for children and klutzes: SHARPOBJECTS
- 111. Immigrant's opposite: NATURALBORNCITIZEN
- 116. 1994 Schwarzenegger film: TRUELIES
- 117. Judge in Judges: GIDEON
- 118. Neighbor of a Turkmen: IRANI
- 119. Cactuslike plant of the Southwest: OCOTILLO
- 120. Doorway jamb: ALETTE
- 121. Remark after an awkward silence: ORNOT
- 122. Vocal skeptic: NAYSAYER
- 123. Hockey team, say: SEXTET
- 124. Nobelist Bohr: NIELS
down
- 1. Aircraft carrier: FLATTOP
- 2. "Open ___": WIDE
- 3. Cruel Ugandan: AMIN
- 4. Veg-O-Matic company: RONCO
- 5. Planned: ENGINEERED
- 6. Instrument played in the mouth: JEWSHARP
- 7. Short operatic solos: ARIETTAS
- 8. Kid minders: NANNIES
- 9. Glacial ridge: ESKER
- 10. Render: TEARER
- 11. Retired boomers: SSTS
- 12. There's no foul play when one passes by these: NATURALCAUSES
- 13. Brass: HORNS
- 14. More pretentious: ARTIER
- 15. Vaquero's neckwear: BOLO
- 16. ___ a secret: INON
- 17. Rikki-tikki-___: TAVI
- 18. Some punches: ADES
- 19. Slander or libel: TORT
- 27. Cavalry member: LANCER
- 31. 2005 biography subtitled "The Making of a Terrorist": OSAMA
- 32. Seasoned hand: OLDPRO
- 33. Sycophant: FLATTERER
- 34. Repeated film title role for Jim Varney: ERNEST
- 36. Organic food label: ALLNATURAL
- 38. Links chain: IHOP
- 40. Orly bird?: AVION
- 41. Pass (out): ZONK
- 42. Potpourri: OLIO
- 43. Lens solution brand: RENU
- 44. Fixed at an acute angle: SHARPSET
- 47. Guide: STEER
- 49. Fox hunter's cry: HALLO
- 54. Shapes studied by Dr. Watson and his partner: HELICES
- 56. Frequent answer to "When?": SOON
- 58. Set-___: TOS
- 59. Letter after pee: KUE
- 60. Wrinkly-faced dogs: SHARPEIS
- 62. Lhasa ___: APSO
- 65. Dastardly laughs: HEHS
- 66. Mario's dinosaur sidekick: YOSHI
- 67. Like some cigarettes: NOTAR
- 68. Way to refuse: FLATLY
- 69. Pavement caution: SLO
- 70. Bottom dealers, perhaps: CARDSHARPS
- 71. Cousins of giraffes: OKAPIS
- 72. Tightens (up): TENSES
- 73. Backups for backups: CTEAM
- 75. "The Origin of Species" concept: NATURALSELECTION
- 76. Part of a freight train: FLATCAR
- 77. Something a dome lacks: EAVE
- 78. Samoan port: APIA
- 79. Former Connecticut governor Jodi: RELL
- 80. Welsh, e.g.: CELTS
- 81. Robert of "The Sopranos": ILER
- 82. "___ Andromeda" (British sci-fi series): AFOR
- 83. 10th-century pope: LEOVII
- 86. F major has just one: FLATTEDNOTE
- 90. Kind of kick: SCISSOR
- 92. Former surgeon general C. ___ Koop: EVERETT
- 95. It's found near the toe of a boot: SICILY
- 97. Apt to change: LABILE
- 101. Inscribed marker: STELE
- 103. Ancient volume: CODEX
- 105. Wispy clouds: CIRRI
- 106. Al who sought the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination: SHARPTON
- 107. Water hazard?: ORCA
- 108. Give a lift: BUOY
- 109. They leave trails: JETS
- 110. Director Kazan: ELIA
- 111. Piped fuel: NATURALGAS
- 112. Site for techies: CNET
- 113. Writer Grey: ZANE
- 114. Organic compound: ENOL
- 115. Tiny criticisms: NITS
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.