NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for August 18, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, August 18, 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
- 10
- 19
- 30
- 64
Down clues & answers
- 9
- 58
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Friday, August 17, 2012
across
- 1. Modern mail?: FLAKJACKET
- 11. British ___: RAJ
- 14. It ends at 12: SENIORHIGH
- 15. Main part, often: HERO
- 16. The Bay of Fundy has the largest one in the world: TIDALRANGE
- 17. Judicial administration?: OATH
- 18. Estadio call: OLE
- 19. Tall and thin: LANK
- 20. Complete, as a crossword: FILLIN
- 22. Like A through D: PASSING
- 24. Having a bad trip, maybe: CARSICK
- 25. Examine carefully: VET
- 26. QB who threw a record-tying seven touchdown passes in a single game (1962): YATITTLE
- 27. W-2 figure: WAGES
- 30. Pitcher's stat: SAVES
- 31. "___ out!": YER
- 32. Somalia's locale in Africa: HORN
- 33. Compromise of 1877 figure: HAYES
- 34. To-do: STIR
- 35. Split, in a way: AXE
- 36. Southern writer William Gilmore ___: SIMMS
- 37. Split (up): DIVVY
- 38. Fighting directly: TOETOTOE
- 40. Nickname in classic jazz: DIZ
- 41. "The Bourne Identity" plot device: AMNESIA
- 42. Makes sense of: DIGESTS
- 46. Commercial miscellany: JOBLOT
- 47. Cartoonist Kelly: WALT
- 48. Bug: TAP
- 49. Director-type: EXEC
- 50. View from the Sydney Harbour Bridge: OPERAHOUSE
- 53. Hershey brand: ROLO
- 54. What a drawer may hold: FELTTIPPEN
- 55. Animal in a comic strip title: KAT
- 56. Running too quickly?: FALSESTART
down
- 1. It controls the amount of light admitted: FSTOP
- 2. "The Pearl Fishers" soprano: LEILA
- 3. Altiplano locale: ANDES
- 4. Soul producer: KIA
- 5. Kicks: JOLLIES
- 6. Downright: ARRANT
- 7. Cho ___, romantic interest for Harry Potter: CHANG
- 8. Twist: KINK
- 9. ___-shaped: EGG
- 10. Moirai, in Greek myth: THEFATES
- 11. "Big Brother," for example: REALITYTV
- 12. It includes provision for the admission of new states: ARTICLEIV
- 13. "A stronger America" sloganeer: JOHNKERRY
- 15. "The Planets" composer: HOLST
- 21. It controls the amount of light admitted: IRIS
- 23. ___ Kramer, 2010 Dutch speed-skating gold medalist: SVEN
- 24. Gives in under pressure: CAVES
- 26. "Lookie what I did!": YAYME
- 27. "Can you BELIEVE that guy?!": WHATAJERK
- 28. Grateful Dead album whose title reads the same forward and backward: AOXOMOXOA
- 29. Intermediate level in karate: GREENBELT
- 30. Navigator Islands, now: SAMOA
- 33. Clicked: HITITOFF
- 34. One criterion for sorting: SIZE
- 36. Fair: SOSO
- 37. "Dude, I got something to tell you ...": DIGTHIS
- 39. Verizon, e.g.: TELCO
- 40. Widen: DILATE
- 42. Short-range missiles: DARTS
- 43. Buddhist shrine: STUPA
- 44. Big stinger: TASER
- 45. Dog-tired: SPENT
- 47. "Now that you mention it ...": WELL
- 51. Sugar ___: PEA
- 52. Vote (for): OPT
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.