NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 8, 2014

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Thursday, May 8, 2014

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:50 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, May 8, 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

Down clues & answers

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

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Previous The Crossword answer

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

across

1. None-too-bright sorts: OAFS
5. Summaries: RECAPS
11. Tippler: SOT
14. Drop ___ (start to strip): TROU
15. Lacking in harmony: ATONAL
16. When tripled, a dance move: CHA
17. Ed McMahon intro words: HERESJOHNNY
19. Have: OWN
20. ___ nous: ENTRE
21. French vote: OUI
22. Synthesizer pioneer Robert: MOOG
23. Charles on a piano: RAY
24. Lawrence Welk intro words: AONEANDATWO
28. Grub, e.g.: LARVA
30. Way out of N.Y.C.: LIRR
31. Italian ballad subject: AMOR
33. Will ___, "The Realistic Joneses" playwright: ENO
35. Setting for many van Gogh paintings: ARLES
39. Chevy Chase intro words: LIVEFROMNEWYORK
43. Diamond datum: STEAL
44. Tidy ___: SUM
45. When doubled, a Billy Idol #1 hit: MONY
46. ___ Cass: MAMA
49. Broad valleys: DALES
51. Jackie Gleason intro words: ANDAWAYWEGO
55. Summer setting in Mass.: EDT
58. Inside dope: POOP
59. Teachers' grp.: NEA
60. Conger hunter: EELER
62. Qt. or gal.: AMT
63. Possible title for this puzzle: ITSSHOWTIME
66. Tattle (on): RAT
67. Pan producer, perhaps: CRITIC
68. In the know about: UPON
69. Sample: TRY
70. Settings of Delacroix and Ingres paintings: HAREMS
71. Ain't fixed?: ISNT

down

1. Remaining: OTHER
2. Where the action is: ARENA
3. Score just before winning a game, say: FORTYLOVE
4. Litigant: SUER
5. British rule in India: RAJ
6. W.W. II command: ETO
7. Small salmon: Var.: COHOE
8. Like pansies and petunias: ANNUAL
9. Bologna sandwiches?: PANINI
10. Like some winks: SLY
11. Get moving: SCOOT
12. "What a surprise!": OHWOW
13. Letter between sierra and uniform: TANGO
18. Scorch: SEAR
22. Proposal words: MARRYME
25. Through with: OVER
26. iPod model: NANO
27. Command in Uno: DRAW
29. Hotel handout: AREAMAP
31. Gore and Green: ALS
32. Cambridge sch.: MIT
34. Yoga chants: OMS
36. Ship sinkers, in an old saying: LOOSELIPS
37. Suffix with east or west: ERN
38. "The daily bread of the eyes," per Ralph Waldo Emerson: SKY
40. Hubris, for Icarus: FLAW
41. Like Rodin's "The Thinker": NUDE
42. Slate, e.g.: EMAG
47. Words to live by: MANTRA
48. Response to captain's orders: AYESIR
50. MGM founder Marcus: LOEW
51. Spaced out?: APART
52. All-Star shortstop Garciaparra: NOMAR
53. Daft: DOTTY
54. It may be hazardous: WASTE
56. Speed ___: DEMON
57. Former Mississippi senator Lott: TRENT
61. French CD holder: ETUI
63. I, in Innsbruck: ICH
64. "Tell ___," 1962 hit by the Exciters: HIM
65. Mil. training site: OCS

Hints and full breakdown for May 7

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.