NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 31, 2011
Saturday, December 31, 2011
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, December 31, 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
- 26
- 42
- 65
Down clues & answers
- 13
- 31
- 45
- 46
- 51
- 58
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Friday, December 30, 2011
across
- 1. Forcefulness: PUNCH
- 6. Is a true believer in: SWEARSBY
- 14. Moss source: SPORE
- 15. Deposit remover?: COALMINER
- 16. Holder of legends: ATLAS
- 17. What you might reach for after hearing "Don't go anywhere!": RADIODIAL
- 18. Drug distributors?: SHOTS
- 19. Entertainment at a luau: UKES
- 20. Look too closely: PRY
- 21. Preparatory time: EVE
- 22. Titled lady: PEERESS
- 25. By area, the third-largest country in the E.U.: SWED
- 26. Some attorneys' degs.: LLDS
- 27. Money in Manila: PESOS
- 31. Someone to hang with: PAL
- 32. Primitive coat: PELT
- 33. Show for which Jim Dale won the 1980 Tony for Best Actor in a Musical: BARNUM
- 34. Kind of compound in chemistry: AZO
- 35. Time in an airport: LAYOVER
- 37. Hearing opening?: OTO
- 38. Landscaping plants: HOSTAS
- 40. Big to-do?: TASK
- 41. Shout with cupped hands, maybe: BOO
- 42. Untagged: NOTIT
- 43. "That's so sad!": OHNO
- 44. Foil part: HAFT
- 45. Most chic: TONIEST
- 47. Auto loan fig.: APR
- 48. Drug sold under the brand name Retrovir: AZT
- 51. Site of an 1815 escape: ELBA
- 52. Almost catch: NIPAT
- 54. Shoots at: FIRESUPON
- 57. Coeur d'___, Idaho: ALENE
- 58. Going around in circles?: ITINERANT
- 59. Restricted parties: STAGS
- 60. Alaska or Hawaii: TIMEZONE
- 61. Problems with an argument: HOLES
down
- 1. Some health warnings: Abbr.: PSAS
- 2. Plentifully, in slang: UPTHEWAZOO
- 3. Enmity: NOLOVELOST
- 4. In a box: CRATED
- 5. Russian chemist with a law of thermodynamics named after him: HESS
- 6. Saturated: SOAKEDTOTHEBONE
- 7. High boots for fishermen: WADERS
- 8. One of Beethoven's bagatelles is dedicated to her: ELISE
- 9. Latin 101 word: AMO
- 10. ___-X (septic treatment brand): RID
- 11. Impertinent one: SNIP
- 12. Arduous challenge: BEAR
- 13. Annual: Abbr.: YRLY
- 15. How Simon Cowell often critiques: CRUELLY
- 22. Hearing responses: PLEAS
- 23. Little starter: SPARK
- 24. Spanish 101 verb: SER
- 25. 1957 Cy Young Award winner: SPAHN
- 28. What luxury goods have: SNOBAPPEAL
- 29. Nowhere close: OUTOFRANGE
- 30. ___-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930: SMOOT
- 32. Academy head: PLATO
- 33. Cloud the judgment of with alcohol: BESOT
- 36. "Good Will Hunting" director, 1997: VANSANT
- 39. Small bird: TIT
- 43. Bottom of a crankcase: OILPAN
- 44. Start of a presidential march: HAILTO
- 46. Prefix with chemical: NEURO
- 48. Throw ___: AFIT
- 49. Tubular pasta: ZITI
- 50. Edging: TRIM
- 52. Humorist who wrote "Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long": NASH
- 53. One of the Durbeyfields: TESS
- 55. Memphis-to-Nashville dir.: ENE
- 56. Expresses, informally: SEZ
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.