NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for August 7, 2012

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

Tuesday, August 7, 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 Tuesday, August 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.

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

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.

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Monday, August 6, 2012

across

1. What a slob makes: MESS
5. Start of a play: ACTI
9. House, in Havana: CASA
13. Poker pot starter: ANTE
14. Animal used for Davy Crockett's cap: COON
15. Ancient doctor known for his work on anatomy: GALEN
16. *Big gamble: CRAPSHOOT
18. Daytime host DeGeneres: ELLEN
19. Good-looker: HOTTIE
20. Impressive accomplishment: FEAT
22. Scarfed down: ATE
23. Commencement: ONSET
24. *Election Day receptacle: BALLOTBOX
26. Blabs: TELLS
28. Former Chevy subcompact: AVEO
29. Doofus: ASS
32. Poses (for): SITS
34. Pass, as a law: ENACT
37. *Result of a financial panic: BANKRUN
40. *Tight braid: CORNROW
42. Hogs: SWINE
43. Desserts good for a hot day: ICES
45. "CSI" evidence, often: DNA
46. D.C.-based agents: FEDS
48. Adams who photographed Yosemite: ANSEL
51. *Series of changes from birth to death: LIFECYCLE
54. Criticize in good fun: ROAST
58. Low-ranking U.S.N. officer: ENS
59. Petrol brand: ESSO
60. Visitor to a confessional: SINNER
61. Lagoon encircler: ATOLL
63. *Precipitous drop in cost: PRICEDIVE
65. Like Cinderella's stepsisters: CRUEL
66. Verdi's opera slave girl: AIDA
67. Sign of things to come: OMEN
68. Loathe: HATE
69. Gas in a DINER sign: NEON
70. Uncool sort: NERD

down

1. Like he-men: MACHO
2. Energy giant that went bankrupt in 2001: ENRON
3. Rebounds per game and others: STATS
4. Two trios plus one: SEPTET
5. Pine (for): ACHE
6. Murmur lovingly: COO
7. Over the speed limit: TOOFAST
8. Big maker of microchips: INTEL
9. Baseball's record-setting Ripken: CAL
10. Train conductor's shout: ALLABOARD
11. Take care of: SEETO
12. Building wing: ANNEX
15. Recover from: GETOVER
17. Web locale: SITE
21. Pie ___ mode: ALA
24. Russian pancakes: BLINI
25. It's south of Ky.: TENN
27. Baton Rouge sch.: LSU
29. Belly muscles: ABS
30. Tool a magician uses in a woman-in-a-crate act: SAW
31. Detects like a bloodhound: SNIFFSOUT
33. Movie snippet: SCENE
35. Pro's opposite: CON
36. Old "We're up to something good" carrier: TWA
38. Leg joint: KNEE
39. Blood component that contains hemoglobin: REDCELL
41. W.W. II spy org.: OSS
44. ___ counter (dieter): CALORIE
47. Part of CBS: Abbr.: SYS
49. Lake between Ohio and Ontario: ERIE
50. 2012 Olympics locale, with a hint to the ends of the answers to the six starred clues: LONDON
51. Dissolve and wash away, as minerals: LEACH
52. The "I" of IM, sportswise: INTRA
53. Network for political junkies: CSPAN
55. Genre of the "Pokémon" TV series: ANIME
56. Break off: SEVER
57. General way things are going: TREND
60. Read carefully: SCAN
62. General at Appomattox: LEE
64. Words that have a certain ring to them?: IDO

Hints and full breakdown for Aug 6

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.