NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 7, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, January 7, 2012. 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
- 24
- 33
- 39
- 42
Down clues & answers
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Friday, January 6, 2012
across
- 1. Company whose jobs are often changing?: JIFFYLUBE
- 10. Working group: STAFF
- 15. Got to the bottom of: UNRAVELED
- 16. It takes a bow at a musical performance: CELLO
- 17. 1958 Buddy Holly hit: MAYBEBABY
- 18. "Guaranteed relief every time" sloganeer: EXLAX
- 19. Historic leader?: PRE
- 20. "Dove ___" (Mozart aria): SONO
- 21. Thing: ENTITY
- 22. Poetic contraction: EER
- 23. Kind of strip: NOPEST
- 25. Workers' org. founded by Samuel Gompers: AFL
- 26. Farriers' tools: RASPS
- 29. Letters signifying quality brandy: VSOP
- 30. Grant-giving org.: NEA
- 31. Musical with the song "Written in the Stars": AIDA
- 33. Said "There, there" to, say: SOLACED
- 36. It makes the Statue of Liberty green: PATINA
- 39. Guarantee: SURETY
- 40. Very excited: ATINGLE
- 42. The so-called Island of the Gods: BALI
- 43. Head for the hills: LAM
- 44. One can be tall: TALE
- 46. Jerry or Jerry Lee: LEWIS
- 50. Seine sight: ILE
- 51. Rappers' covers: DORAGS
- 53. Sign: INK
- 54. Lane on Broadway: NATHAN
- 56. Attack: GOAT
- 58. Telephone trio: GHI
- 59. Against a thing, at law: INREM
- 60. 2010 Ke$ha chart-topper with a creatively spelled five-word title: WERWHOWER
- 62. Clichéd: STALE
- 63. Series of Nintendo games: MARIOKART
- 64. Certain 49-Down: MAXIS
- 65. Watersheds: DRAINAGES
down
- 1. 18-footer, maybe: JUMPER
- 2. Measured two-dimensionally: INAREA
- 3. Chickens for dinner: FRYERS
- 4. "Marvy!": FAB
- 5. Surrealist Tanguy: YVES
- 6. Simon of Duran Duran: LEBON
- 7. Russian ballerina Galina: ULANOVA
- 8. Gets into Monk music: BEBOPS
- 9. Eponym of a frozen food: EDY
- 10. It may be picked up in the woods: SCENT
- 11. Do a driver's no-no: TEXT
- 12. Axis, e.g.: ALLIANCE
- 13. Condition known medically as pes planus: FLATFEET
- 14. 1967 hit with the lyric "You know you're a cute little heartbreaker": FOXYLADY
- 21. Wife, in Juárez: ESPOSA
- 24. Sister of Helios: EOS
- 27. Sibling, at times?: PAIN
- 28. Sound really good: SING
- 32. 007 player: DALTON
- 34. Put to sleep: LULL
- 35. Auto racer Luyendyk: ARIE
- 36. "Refudiate," e.g.: PALINISM
- 37. Mythical runner: ATALANTA
- 38. 1990s series initially set in the year 2193: TIMETRAX
- 41. Place for a plug: EAR
- 42. Mild Irish oath: BEGORRA
- 45. Nike competitor: LAGEAR
- 47. Move to and fro: WIGWAG
- 48. Belong: INHERE
- 49. Women's wear: SKIRTS
- 51. Women: DAMES
- 52. 2005 horror sequel: SAWII
- 55. Prefix with port: HELI
- 57. Fund-raising suffix: THON
- 60. Iraq war subject, briefly: WMD
- 61. Volga tributary: OKA
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.