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NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 10, 2012

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

By Last updated How we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Tuesday, January 10, 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.

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

Across clues & answers

  1. 10

    Spear

  2. 17
  3. 24
  4. 27

    Unwordy

  5. 28

    King-size

  6. 30
  7. 35

    No-good

  8. 43

    Select

  9. 45

    Fireplace

  10. 50
  11. 54
  12. 67
  13. 68
  14. 70

    Degrees

Down clues & answers

  1. 1

    Nabob

  2. 3

    Black eye

  3. 12
  4. 24
  5. 44
  6. 58

    De-ice

  7. 59
  8. 60

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Previous The Crossword answer

Monday, January 9, 2012

across

  • 1. Misfortunes: WOES
  • 5. A surfboard rides it: WAVE
  • 9. "... lived happily ever ___": AFTER
  • 14. Oil ministers' grp.: OPEC
  • 15. Lighted sign near a stairway: EXIT
  • 16. Swap: TRADE
  • 17. Actress Turner: LANA
  • 18. Too: ALSO
  • 19. Dutch bloom: TULIP
  • 20. Soar: FLYLIKEANEAGLE
  • 23. They're worth 1 or 11 in blackjack: ACES
  • 24. ___-la-la: TRA
  • 25. "On the Origin of Species" author: DARWIN
  • 28. "Quiet!": SHH
  • 30. Science class sessions: LABS
  • 34. Nearly sacrificed son of Abraham: ISAAC
  • 35. Barcelona's land: SPAIN
  • 37. Tierra ___ Fuego: DEL
  • 38. Tell everything to the coppers: SINGLIKEACANARY
  • 41. Lynx or puma: CAT
  • 42. Rockers Clapton and Burdon: ERICS
  • 43. Turn away: REPEL
  • 44. Better-than-you type: SNOB
  • 46. Tattoo fluid: INK
  • 47. Gnarled, as a tree trunk: KNOTTY
  • 48. Navy vessel initials: USS
  • 50. Faux pas: SLIP
  • 51. Carefully guard: WATCHLIKEAHAWK
  • 58. Doha is its capital: QATAR
  • 59. Lone Star State sch.: UTEP
  • 60. Number after a © symbol: YEAR
  • 61. Money-saving brand prefix: ECONO
  • 62. Politico Gingrich: NEWT
  • 63. Doughnut shapes, mathematically speaking: TORI
  • 64. Slept lightly: DOZED
  • 65. "Are not!" playground retort: AMSO
  • 66. Finishes: ENDS

down

  • 1. "The Three Little Pigs" antagonist: WOLF
  • 2. October birthstone: OPAL
  • 3. "___, meeny, miney, mo": EENY
  • 4. Rapscallion: SCALAWAG
  • 5. Undermine: WEAKEN
  • 6. Car rods: AXLES
  • 7. MasterCard rival: VISA
  • 8. James Bond's school: ETON
  • 9. Fragrance of roses: ATTAR
  • 10. Penny-pinching: FRUGAL
  • 11. Like Dubai's Burj Khalifa: TALL
  • 12. Emmy winner Falco: EDIE
  • 13. Member of the House: Abbr.: REP
  • 21. One with a freezing point?: ICICLE
  • 22. Moral standard: ETHIC
  • 25. The chocolate parts of Oreos, e.g.: DISCS
  • 26. Like about 60% of the world's population: ASIAN
  • 27. Totaled, as a bill: RANTO
  • 28. Particle: SPECK
  • 29. Actor Lukas of "Witness": HAAS
  • 31. Evolve (per 25-Across): ADAPT
  • 32. French cap: BERET
  • 33. With cunning: SLYLY
  • 35. Dermatologist's study: SKIN
  • 36. Fantasy realm of C. S. Lewis: NARNIA
  • 39. Dubliners, e.g.: IRISH
  • 40. Beginner: NEOPHYTE
  • 45. Gas in lighters: BUTANE
  • 47. Thief, in brief: KLEPTO
  • 49. Catch of the day, say, in New England: SCROD
  • 50. Distorts, as data: SKEWS
  • 51. Baylor University's home: WACO
  • 52. The gamut: ATOZ
  • 53. Goddess of the moon: LUNA
  • 54. Thingy: ITEM
  • 55. Very long time: AEON
  • 56. Fend (off): WARD
  • 57. Kringle or Kristofferson: KRIS
  • 58. Math proof ending: QED
Hints and full breakdown for Jan 9

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.