NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 16, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Tuesday, December 16, 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
- 32
- 37
- 50
- 63
Down clues & answers
- 29
- 36
- 39
- 49
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Monday, December 15, 2014
across
- 1. *Obstetrician's action on a newborn's behind: SLAP
- 5. Actress Davis of "Now, Voyager": BETTE
- 10. Stick in one's ___: CRAW
- 14. Successor to the mark and franc: EURO
- 15. Guide down an aisle: USHER
- 16. Fury: RAGE
- 17. Play opener: ACTI
- 18. *Goal an N.H.L.'er shoots for?: STANLEYCUP
- 20. *Go swimming in one's birthday suit: SKINNYDIP
- 22. Exhausted: SPENT
- 23. Himalayan legend: YETI
- 24. Maestro Zubin: MEHTA
- 26. Wings: Lat.: ALAE
- 29. Punishment for a mutineer: LASHES
- 32. Spoiled kid: BRAT
- 35. Emmy winner, say: TVSTAR
- 38. Relative of an ostrich: EMU
- 39. Rap's ___ Wayne: LIL
- 40. *Visit to Vail, maybe: SKITRIP
- 41. Piece of concert equipment: AMP
- 42. Down, on a light switch: OFF
- 43. Crankcase base: OILPAN
- 44. Palm Pilots and such, for short: PDAS
- 45. One-third of a Clue accusation: WEAPON
- 47. Office message: MEMO
- 49. "Midnight Cowboy" nickname: RATSO
- 51. God with a bow and arrow: EROS
- 54. Historical period: EPOCH
- 56. *Sharp mind, figuratively: STEELTRAP
- 61. *Setting for "Meatballs" or "Friday the 13th": SUMMERCAMP
- 63. Up to the job: ABLE
- 64. Domain: AREA
- 65. Actor Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE
- 66. The "L" of "S.N.L.": LIVE
- 67. Its symbol is Fe: IRON
- 68. Island home of the Minotaur: CRETE
- 69. "Freeze!" ... or, when broken into three parts, how the answer for each of the six starred clues goes: STOP
down
- 1. Caribbean and others: SEAS
- 2. Like lottery winners: LUCKY
- 3. Shaw of 1930s-'40s swing: ARTIE
- 4. Indicate with a finger: POINTAT
- 5. Tied up, as a phone line: BUSY
- 6. Abbr. before a cornerstone date: ESTD
- 7. Bangkok native: THAI
- 8. When prime time ends on most Fox stations: TENPM
- 9. Schubert's "The ___ King": ERL
- 10. Burial vaults: CRYPTS
- 11. Quickly take the lead: RACEAHEAD
- 12. "Son of ___!": AGUN
- 13. Cried: WEPT
- 19. F equivalent, musically: ESHARP
- 21. It's nothing in soccer: NIL
- 25. Seinfeld's ex on "Seinfeld": ELAINE
- 27. ___ diet (early 2000s fad): ATKINS
- 28. Bad to the bone: EVIL
- 30. Austen title heroine: EMMA
- 31. Has dinner: SUPS
- 32. Squander: BLOW
- 33. Teeming (with): RIFE
- 34. Sports car with a Spider model: ALFAROMEO
- 36. Indy letters: STP
- 37. Streetcar: TRAM
- 40. Relieve of pain: SOOTHE
- 44. Doors: PORTALS
- 46. Game with four ghosts: PACMAN
- 48. Gibson of "Braveheart": MEL
- 50. Trash-talking Muppet?: OSCAR
- 52. Circle the Earth: ORBIT
- 53. Round of gunfire: SALVO
- 54. Morales of "La Bamba": ESAI
- 55. Contented cat sound: PURR
- 57. Give's opposite: TAKE
- 58. Send out: EMIT
- 59. Fencing implement: EPEE
- 60. "Not a ___ out of you!": PEEP
- 62. Bird of Arabian myth: ROC
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.