Skip to content
ZWordFinderZ

NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for April 17, 2014

Thursday, April 17, 2014

By Last updated How we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, April 17, 2014. 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

  1. 1

    Mob muscle

  2. 5

    Little bit

  3. 8

    A pop

  4. 12

    "You know nothing about me"

  5. 14

    Open-mouthed state

  6. 15

    Astronomer ___ Brahe

  7. 16

    "America's Most Wanted" host John

  8. 17

    "Toy Story" character

  9. 18

    Subway fare?

  10. 19

    Superior skill

  11. 21

    Pioneer in New Criticism

  12. 23

    With 13-Down, blew one's stack

  13. 24

    With 15-Down, spent way too much money for something

  14. 25

    Song that may be performed with supertitles

  15. 27

    Turn on

  16. 28

    Soft and light

  17. 31

    "That put me over the edge!"

  18. 35

    "What?!"

  19. 36

    "Fine and dandy," in old slang

  20. 37

    Symbols for statistical means

  21. 38

    What pitchforks pitch

  22. 39

    Summer in Québec

  23. 40

    Slick trick

  24. 42

    H.R.E. part: Abbr.

  25. 43

    With 30-Down, hit dead-on

  26. 45

    With 61-Across, carefully consider ... or a clue to this puzzle's theme

  27. 46

    With 32-Down, followed a career ladder

  28. 47

    Not ___ (meh)

  29. 49

    Big club?

  30. 50

    Hardy hog breed

  31. 51

    Opposite of paix

  32. 53

    World powerhouse in curling

  33. 54

    Botanist Gray

  34. 55

    Seasoned veterans

  35. 59

    Wii forerunner, for short

  36. 60

    Debussy's "La ___"

  37. 61

    See 45-Across

  38. 62

    Kit ___ bar

  39. 63

    Winter D.C. setting

  40. 64

    Bullet points

  41. 65

    '60s campus org.

Down clues & answers

  1. 1

    Stare with an open mouth

  2. 2

    Palestinian nominee for Best Foreign Language Film of 2013

  3. 3

    Simmering

  4. 4

    "Easy peasy"

  5. 5

    Throws off balance

  6. 6

    "I ___ you"

  7. 7

    Emoticon medium

  8. 8

    They're usually heavier at night

  9. 9

    Stinging

  10. 10

    Toy train sound

  11. 11

    Human in "Alien," e.g.

  12. 13

    See 23-Across

  13. 15

    See 24-Across

  14. 20

    Can't do well

  15. 22

    Go caving

  16. 26

    Wife of Muhammad

  17. 27

    French writer de Beauvoir

  18. 28

    Metaphor for diplomacy

  19. 29

    Heads for the woods?

  20. 30

    See 43-Across

  21. 32

    See 46-Across

  22. 33

    "My parents are going to kill me!"

  23. 34

    Pigeonholes, in a way

  24. 41

    Little jerk

  25. 44

    A.L. East squad

  26. 46

    Go quickly

  27. 48

    Go quickly

  28. 50

    Go quickly

  29. 52

    Pre-coll. years

  30. 53

    Teeth

  31. 56

    "The 5,000 Fingers of ___" (1953 Seuss film)

  32. 57

    "The Purloined Letter" writer

  33. 58

    Main ingredient in pirates' grog

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

WhatsAppXReddit

Previous The Crossword answer

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

across

  • 1. Bound: JUMP
  • 5. Cuddly sci-fi creature: EWOK
  • 9. Actors Sharif and Epps: OMARS
  • 14. ___ cry: AFAR
  • 15. Kind of curriculum: CORE
  • 16. Tackles: HASAT
  • 17. Nirvana seeker: YOGI
  • 18. Brain part: LOBE
  • 19. Pickling liquid: BRINE
  • 20. Post-christening event: MAIDENVOYAGE
  • 23. Pitch tents, say: ENCAMP
  • 26. Feedbag morsel: OAT
  • 27. Hair goop: GEL
  • 28. What scientists use to predict the rates of chemical reactions: COLLISIONTHEORY
  • 32. "Winnie-the-Pooh" young 'un: ROO
  • 33. Golf's Ernie: ELS
  • 34. TV: SET
  • 35. Felix of "The Odd Couple": UNGER
  • 38. "Krazy ___": KAT
  • 40. Hindu honcho: RAJAH
  • 44. Contra-contraband org.: DEA
  • 46. Bloviation: GAS
  • 48. Author Umberto: ECO
  • 49. Small part that's visible: TIPOFTHEICEBERG
  • 55. Lead-in to meter: ODO
  • 56. ___-de-France: ILE
  • 57. Eschews nuptial formalities, say: ELOPES
  • 58. Headline of April 16, 1912: TITANICSINKS
  • 62. Saw: ADAGE
  • 63. Clump of hair: KNOT
  • 64. Clump of hair: TUFT
  • 68. Soda bottle measure: LITER
  • 69. When repeated, kind of show: LATE
  • 70. Dust Bowl migrant: OKIE
  • 71. Floor: STORY
  • 72. "Goodness gracious!": EGAD
  • 73. Cry at a deli: NEXT

down

  • 1. Noisy bird: JAY
  • 2. One side in a close encounter: UFO
  • 3. ___ wheels: MAG
  • 4. Kind of instinct: PRIMAL
  • 5. Sun block?: ECLIPSE
  • 6. Lumber: WOOD
  • 7. "Eat ___ eaten": ORBE
  • 8. Liking a lot: KEENON
  • 9. Winnie-the-Pooh catchphrase: OHBOTHER
  • 10. Crèche figure: MARY
  • 11. Italian cheese: ASIAGO
  • 12. Texas lawman: RANGER
  • 13. Unyielding: STEELY
  • 21. Godard, to Truffaut, e.g.: AMI
  • 22. Vintners' vessels: VATS
  • 23. Relative of beige: ECRU
  • 24. Eleven plus one: NOON
  • 25. Plumbing problem: CLOG
  • 29. Sort: ILK
  • 30. Oklahoma Indian: OSAGE
  • 31. Amtrak listing, for short: ETA
  • 36. Tokyo's former name: EDO
  • 37. Facility often found near a port: REFINERY
  • 39. Mai ___: TAI
  • 41. Grand Cherokee, e.g.: JEEP
  • 42. Parcel of land: ACRE
  • 43. Arkansas footballers, informally: HOGS
  • 45. Mythical king of the Huns: ATLI
  • 47. Fragrant: SCENTED
  • 49. Wrecks: TOTALS
  • 50. Cry of success: IDIDIT
  • 51. Stew ingredient: POTATO
  • 52. Give a hard time, in a way: HECKLE
  • 53. Yellowstone bugler: ELK
  • 54. Globe's place: BOSTON
  • 59. New ___: AGER
  • 60. Catch: SNAG
  • 61. Smidgen: IOTA
  • 65. Maui music-maker: UKE
  • 66. Pickle: FIX
  • 67. Vietnamese New Year: TET
Hints and full breakdown for Apr 16

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.