NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 26, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, January 26, 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
- 11
- 21
- 27
- 55
- 67
Down clues & answers
- 3
- 10
- 29
- 30
- 47
- 49
- 53
- 58
- 61
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
across
- 1. Gulp from a flask: SWIG
- 5. Classic sci-fi terror, with "the": BLOB
- 9. Began a triathlon: SWAM
- 13. College in New Rochelle, N.Y.: IONA
- 14. Running behind: LATE
- 15. Afghanistan's Karzai: HAMID
- 17. What the annual Dove Awards are awarded for: GOSPELMUSIC
- 19. "The Hot Zone" virus: EBOLA
- 20. Source of T-bones: STEER
- 21. Like winter in Siberia: COLDASHELL
- 23. Game with Skip and Reverse cards: UNO
- 24. Baseball card fig.: RBI
- 26. Followers of lambdas: MUS
- 27. "The Crow" actress ___ Ling: BAI
- 28. Song title for both Fleetwood Mac and Starship: SARA
- 30. Kind of aerobics: STEP
- 32. Phyllis's never-seen TV husband: LARS
- 33. Open to suggestion: AMENABLE
- 36. Coming-clean words: ILIED
- 38. Indicators of age ... and a hint to this puzzle's theme: TREERINGS
- 40. Sweet filling, in commercial names: KREME
- 42. Inviting a blessing?: SNEEZING
- 46. Sing a paean to: LAUD
- 47. Pursuers of the Sopranos, for short: GMEN
- 49. Drop ___ (start to disrobe): TROU
- 50. "Newhart" setting: INN
- 51. Tre + tre: SEI
- 52. City of Kyrgyzstan: OSH
- 55. Tricky turn: ESS
- 56. One at a crime scene: EYEWITNESS
- 59. Take illegally: POACH
- 61. Noir or comedy: GENRE
- 62. Place for iodine: FIRSTAIDKIT
- 65. Perfumer's compound: ESTER
- 66. "Horrors!": EGAD
- 67. Accelerator particles: IONS
- 68. Drunken spree: TOOT
- 69. Staph-caused irritation: STYE
- 70. Cherub at Notre Dame: ANGE
down
- 1. Autograph: Abbr.: SIG
- 2. Ian who won the 1991 Masters: WOOSNAM
- 3. Yet to come: INSTORE
- 4. Act starstruck, say: GAPE
- 5. Words on a jacket: BLURB
- 6. Chorus syllables: LAS
- 7. Ear-related: OTIC
- 8. Look good on: BECOME
- 9. Gets rid of: SHEDS
- 10. Indiana river: WABASH
- 11. Sights on slides: AMOEBAE
- 12. President Fillmore: MILLARD
- 16. "The Persistence of Memory" and others: DALIS
- 18. Name for a bull: ELMER
- 22. Wolfish: LUPINE
- 23. Team ___: USA
- 25. Trinidad or Tobago: ISLE
- 29. Chipped in: ANTED
- 31. Like telegrams, typically: TERSE
- 32. "Hungarian Rhapsodies" composer: LISZT
- 34. Part of a slot machine: ARM
- 35. Any of the "Stayin' Alive" singers: BEEGEE
- 37. Apparel abbr.: LGE
- 39. ___ uncertain terms: INNO
- 40. "Gold Digger" rapper: KANYEWEST
- 41. Chance upon: RUNINTO
- 43. "Suppose so": IRECKON
- 44. Having chips, say: NOSHING
- 45. NASA's Grissom: GUS
- 46. Feudal subject: LIEGE
- 48. Rifle problems: MISFIRES
- 51. Dog in the funnies: SNERT
- 53. Classic Bogart role: SPADE
- 54. ___ polloi: HOI
- 57. Palm smartphone: TREO
- 58. Army NCO: SSGT
- 60. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA
- 63. Scotland's Firth of ___: TAY
- 64. Mao ___-tung: TSE
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.