NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for September 9, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, September 9, 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
- 37
- 53
- 68
- 79
- 120
- 122
Down clues & answers
- 11
- 35
- 76
- 95
- 97
- 101
- 106
- 108
- 111
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, September 8, 2012
across
- 1. One of the housewives on "Desperate Housewives": GABY
- 5. Spelled: STOODINFOR
- 15. Book with the chapter "How They Dress in Tahiti": OMOO
- 16. Emulated Anne Frank: KEPTADIARY
- 17. Take one's lumps?: TONG
- 18. Black piecrust component: OREOCOOKIE
- 19. Conditioner's cousin: CREAMRINSE
- 21. Mockingbird prey: BEES
- 22. Timon of Athens, e.g.: HERMIT
- 23. Trattoria order: PENNE
- 24. President who won 97.6% of the vote in 2007: ASSAD
- 25. Cameo voicer on Weird Al Yankovic's "I Lost on Jeopardy": PARDO
- 29. Took off the table?: ATE
- 30. Crime lab tool: TWEEZERS
- 32. George III descriptor: MAD
- 33. "O thou pale ___ that silent shines": Burns: ORB
- 36. Second: INSTANT
- 37. Player who followed in Player's footsteps: ELS
- 38. Measure of thanks?: MIL
- 39. People who need to find a john?: VICECOPS
- 41. Coin introduced by Louis IX: ECU
- 42. Word from on high: EDICT
- 43. Ones taking off?: APERS
- 47. Home of the Rugby League's Rhinos: LEEDS
- 49. Quarter: BILLET
- 50. Pursuit of Pan: ECHO
- 51. Sensor in a CD player: PHOTODIODE
- 55. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame doo-wop group from Baltimore: THEORIOLES
- 57. Backsplash piece: TILE
- 58. Volunteer: TENNESSEAN
- 59. Milked: USED
- 60. Obama and Clinton, for example: EXSENATORS
- 61. Baseball throws: PEGS
down
- 1. ___ journalism: GOTCHA
- 2. Title shared by works of Ovid and D. H. Lawrence: AMORES
- 3. Faux pas: BONERS
- 4. Roll in a locker: YOGAMAT
- 5. Sporty hybrid: SKORT
- 6. Polo of "Little Fockers": TERI
- 7. Dentist's request: OPEN
- 8. Little Thief's people: OTOS
- 9. Relative of a carp: DACE
- 10. Mating call?: IDO
- 11. Tantalus' daughter: NIOBE
- 12. It may be assumed: FAKENAME
- 13. Partner of Connecticut and Vermont: ORIENTAL
- 14. Starters in some fields: RYESEEDS
- 20. Labor group: MIDWIVES
- 23. Like some envelopes: POSTPAID
- 25. "Home Alone" co-star: PESCI
- 26. Texcoco denizen: AZTEC
- 27. Turn another color, say: REACT
- 28. Character inspired by Fu Manchu: DRNO
- 31. So-called "Wheat Capital of the United States": ENID
- 33. Frittata, e.g.: OMELETTE
- 34. General Mills offering: RICECHEX
- 35. University of Delaware athletes: BLUEHENS
- 40. Separate: SPLITUP
- 44. Nancy Drew's aunt: ELOISE
- 45. Cincinnati baseballer of old: REDLEG
- 46. Stable assets: STEEDS
- 48. Family name in an 1869 romance: DOONE
- 49. Smee and others: BOSNS
- 51. Knights' Square site: PISA
- 52. Myriad: HOST
- 53. Imperial offering: OLEO
- 54. Jag: TEAR
- 56. ___ Faire (re-enactors' event, informally): REN
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.