NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for July 28, 2012

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Saturday, July 28, 2012

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 3:01 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, July 28, 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.

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

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

1
Neaten (up)
2
Start of a big wave?
3
O'Connor's successor
4
No longer serving: Abbr.
5
Geometry meas.
6
___ Plus (pharmacy purchase)
7
Really listened
8
Charms
9
Under control
10
Bygone N.Y.S.E. ticker symbol
11
Picture-hosting Web site
12
Kind of drip
13
"Are not!" elicitor
14
Spring's counterpart
21
Title box choice
24
Reference program launched in 2005
26
Top gun
28
Actor Will of "Up All Night"
29
Second-___
31
Cadenzas, e.g.
32
Weight
33
Sight along una calle
34
They may be pint-size with big heads
35
100% pure
36
Put a cover on
38
1976 Hall & Oates hit
40
Like many cookie jars
42
Flight
44
"Les Pêcheurs de Perles" composer
46
Start to care?
47
Combed, as hair
48
___ Knox, co-star of Lon Chaney in "The Mummy's Tomb"
49
Olympics locale where the first figure-skating triple jump was landed
50
It's just over a foot
52
Check within, say?: Abbr.
53
Sweetums
56
Fourth caliph in Sunni Islam
58
Jam (up)

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Friday, July 27, 2012

across

1. Line of acid reflux medications: PEPCID
7. Gash: LACERATE
15. 1984 film based on the 1924 novel: APASSAGETOINDIA
17. Causes for some wars: DISPUTEDBORDERS
18. Court org.: USTA
19. French-built rocket: ARIANE
20. Downwind: LEE
21. Some religious experiences: ATONEMENTS
23. Laplanders: SAMI
24. ___ Tamid (synagogue lamp): NER
25. Items often found near the cash register: MINTS
26. Suffix with diet: ICIAN
27. Mark atop, as graph points: MAPONTO
29. Money for nothing?: CREDIT
30. Undergoes liquefaction, as a gel: SOLATES
31. It may have an ext.: PHONENO
32. Actresses Graff and Kristen: ILENES
33. Next: SOONEST
34. Like some rule-breaking Olympians: DOPED
35. Not getting it: DENSE
36. Leave: LET
38. Guidance: EGIS
39. What's between fast and slow?: CENTERLANE
41. Great Lakes state: Abbr.: WIS
42. Segue: LEADIN
43. Country whose name sounds like a Jamaican exclamation: OMAN
44. Pretends not to care: ACTSINDIFFERENT
47. 1945 event: YALTACONFERENCE
48. Shooting pellets?: SLEETING
49. Completely gone: WASTED

down

1. Katherina or Bianca, in "The Taming of the Shrew": PADUAN
2. Like questions of what is knowable: EPISTEMOLOGICAL
3. 1 or 2 Timothy: PASTORALEPISTLE
4. Where to hear hearings: CSPAN
5. Sch. in Ames: ISU
6. Finds customers from social media, perhaps: DATAMINES
7. Preceded: LEDINTO
8. Baseball stat: ATBATS
9. Woodsy scavengers: COONS
10. Its national anthem is "Amhrán na bhFiann": EIRE
11. Boxing seg.: RND
12. "Guys and Dolls" song: ADELAIDESLAMENT
13. Some basic car care: TIREMAINTENANCE
14. Take on gradually: EASEINTO
16. Rulers or managers: GERENTS
22. Didn't hide one's feelings, to say the least: EMOTED
23. Bad thing to make at a restaurant: SCENE
26. One working on a board: IRONER
28. Tiffany features: PANES
29. Elite: CHOSENFEW
30. Askance: SIDEWAYS
31. Wearer of the triregnum crown: PONTIFF
33. Spoofing, with "up": SENDING
35. Absolutely perfect: DEADON
37. Like campers at night, typically: TENTED
39. "The ___: A Tragedy in Five Acts" (Shelley work): CENCI
40. Unlike HDTV screens: LORES
42. "South Pacific" girl: LIAT
45. Relig. title: STE
46. Christian ___: ERA

Hints and full breakdown for Jul 27

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.