NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 23, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, May 23, 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.
Across clues & answers
- 13
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 44
- 45
Down clues & answers
- 23
- 25
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, May 22, 2014
across
- 1. Pound: QUID
- 5. Twenty-one words: HITME
- 10. Starbuck's orderer: AHAB
- 14. Old station name: ESSO
- 15. Youngest Oscar winner in history: ONEAL
- 16. Part of a pound: CAGE
- 17. Caesarean section?: ISAW
- 18. Billy's mate: NANNY
- 19. Make a long story short, perhaps: EDIT
- 20. Brand producers: IRONS
- 22. Trail: LAG
- 23. Stood out: SHONE
- 24. Plan B, e.g.: PILLMORNING
- 27. Wine taster's asset: PALATE
- 30. 2008 TARP recipient: AIG
- 31. A seemingly endless series: ANOTHERONETHING
- 38. One of just 12 in Alaska: Abbr.: RTE
- 39. Pac-12 player: UTE
- 40. Fraternity letter: TAU
- 41. Rule contradicted by science?: CIBEFOREEEXCEPT
- 48. Little application: DAB
- 49. Does penance: ATONES
- 50. Note to a spy, perhaps: READINGBURN
- 55. One with a bag lunch?: HORSE
- 56. Part of a krone: ORE
- 57. Waiting, for the impatient, say: AGONY
- 61. One acting on impulse?: AXON
- 62. See 13-Down: NOIRE
- 64. Find the ___ (geometry test instruction): AREA
- 65. "Open ___": WIDE
- 66. Surmise: INFER
- 67. Knightly wear: MAIL
- 68. Start to do well?: NEER
- 69. Name that's a homophone for 13-Down: BETTE
- 70. Cosmopolitan competitor: ELLE
down
- 1. Role for Helen Mirren, briefly: QEII
- 2. Group of red states, for short?: USSR
- 3. Golfer Aoki: ISAO
- 4. Learned perfectly: DOWNPAT
- 5. Sugar substitute?: HON
- 6. Together: INALL
- 7. Break time, perhaps: TENAM
- 8. Snapple flavor: MANGO
- 9. Ron who played Tarzan: ELY
- 10. Loser to a pair: ACEHIGH
- 11. Sported: HADON
- 12. Getting on: AGING
- 13. With 62-Across, dreaded one: BETE
- 21. Jedi foes: SITH
- 23. Pet: SNIT
- 25. "Malcolm X" director: LEE
- 26. Actress Charlotte: RAE
- 27. Jardin du Luxembourg, par exemple: PARC
- 28. Against: ANTI
- 29. Leopold's partner in crime: LOEB
- 32. Whence the word "robot": RUR
- 33. Taxonomic suffix: OTE
- 34. Formerly: NEE
- 35. Southern hwy.: ITEN
- 36. Pickup spot?: NAPE
- 37. They may be spilled: GUTS
- 42. One of the voices in "Up": EDASNER
- 43. Film technique: FADE
- 44. Eastern band: OBI
- 45. Évian, e.g.: EAU
- 46. Bonus, in ads: XTRA
- 47. Scam: CONGAME
- 50. "Chicago" number: ROXIE
- 51. Undermine: ERODE
- 52. Ray Charles hit of 1963: NOONE
- 53. Type of scam: GRIFT
- 54. Green ___: BERET
- 55. "The First Wives Club" co-star, 1996: HAWN
- 58. ___-B: ORAL
- 59. "Cosmos" host ___ deGrasse Tyson: NEIL
- 60. Brown competitor: YALE
- 62. Tip for a writer: NIB
- 63. Long intro?: ERE
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.