NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for September 20, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, September 20, 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
- 16
- 26
- 53
Down clues & answers
- 13
- 39
- 55
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
across
- 1. ___-on-Don, Russian port of 1+ million: ROSTOV
- 7. Tycoon, informally: FATCAT
- 13. Theoretically: ONPAPER
- 15. Maryland state symbol: ORIOLE
- 16. Wassily ___, Russian-American Nobelist in Economics: LEONTIEF
- 18. Like the Kremlin: ORNATE
- 19. Comics outburst: ACK
- 20. Conservative leader?: NEO
- 21. Divulges: LETSON
- 22. Nouri al-Maliki, for one: IRAQI
- 25. Pro ___: FORMA
- 27. Highest-rated: TOP
- 28. They may be sold by the dozen: DONUTS
- 30. Desirous look: LEER
- 31. "Third Uncle" singer: ENO
- 32. When repeated, cry after an award is bestowed: SPEECH
- 33. Alphabet run: MNO
- 34. Clay pigeon launcher: TRAP
- 35. End of the saying: SHAMEONME
- 38. Persevering, say: ATIT
- 41. Dictionnaire entry: MOT
- 42. Shade of red: CERISE
- 46. Single dose?: DAT
- 47. "Got milk?" cry, perhaps: MEOW
- 48. Cerumen: EARWAX
- 49. "For hire" org. of the 1930s: WPA
- 50. Picker-upper: TONIC
- 52. Watts in a film projector?: NAOMI
- 53. Drill instructors?: OILMEN
- 55. What may be caught with bare hands?: CAB
- 57. Treadmill setting: JOG
- 58. Half: MOIETY
- 59. It's not required: ELECTIVE
- 62. Info on a personal check: Abbr.: ACCTNO
- 63. Mandela portrayer in "Invictus," 2009: FREEMAN
- 64. Long Island county: NASSAU
- 65. Certain race entry: GOCART
down
- 1. Product whose commercials ran for a spell on TV?: ROLAIDS
- 2. Undiversified, as a farm: ONECROP
- 3. Expo '74 locale: SPOKANE
- 4. Go for the bronze?: TAN
- 5. Go (for): OPT
- 6. Red Cross hot line?: VEIN
- 7. Start of a four-part saying: FOOLMEONCE
- 8. Unpaid debt: ARREAR
- 9. Window treatment: TINT
- 10. Ride up and down?: COASTER
- 11. City in the Alleghenies: ALTOONA
- 12. Justin Bieber's genre: TEENPOP
- 14. Ship hazard: REEF
- 17. Part 3 of the saying: FOOLMETWICE
- 23. Search: QUEST
- 24. Intense desire: ITCH
- 26. Silver State city: RENO
- 29. Part 2 of the saying: SHAMEONYOU
- 34. Latin land: TERRA
- 36. Create an open-ended view?: MOON
- 37. Stand for: MEAN
- 38. Lady pitcher: ADWOMAN
- 39. Pudding thickener: TAPIOCA
- 40. It leans to the right: ITALICS
- 43. Setting for Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers": IWOJIMA
- 44. Russian urn: SAMOVAR
- 45. Urgent: EXIGENT
- 47. Italian tourist attraction, in brief: MTETNA
- 51. Leg part: CALF
- 54. Team that got a new ballpark in 2009: METS
- 56. Ship hazard: BERG
- 60. Corp. head: CEO
- 61. Sleuth, informally: TEC
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.