NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for January 21, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Wednesday, January 21, 2015. 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
- 15
- 19
Down clues & answers
- 36
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
across
- 1. Lead-in to cent or annum: PER
- 4. Passé: OLDHAT
- 10. Key of Schubert's Symphony No. 9: Abbr.: CMAJ
- 14. Lumberjack's tool: AXE
- 15. Ivanhoe's love: ROWENA
- 16. Alternative to Drive or Road: LANE
- 17. Scribble (down): JOT
- 18. Dish with croutons and Parmesan cheese: CAESARSALAD
- 20. Commotions: ADOS
- 22. Madrid month: MES
- 23. Lab bottle: PHIAL
- 24. Pull-down sleeper: MURPHYBED
- 27. Daytime ___: EMMYS
- 29. Houston athlete: ASTRO
- 30. Peculiar: ODD
- 32. Action film weapon: UZI
- 33. Social Security criterion: AGE
- 35. Okla. City-to-St. Louis direction: ENE
- 36. Verb with "vous": ETES
- 37. Evian competitor: CRYSTALGEYSER
- 41. Barnyard bleats: BAAS
- 42. Guernsey chew: CUD
- 43. Comfy bit of footwear: MOC
- 44. Certain dash lengths: EMS
- 45. "Evita" role: CHE
- 46. Super Bowl gains: YARDS
- 50. "The Merry Widow" composer: LEHAR
- 52. "Tommy," for one: ROCKOPERA
- 56. Tireless worker?: ROBOT
- 58. Managed: RAN
- 59. Bad to the bone: EVIL
- 60. What the starts of 18-, 24-, 37- and 52-Across can provide?: COMICRELIEF
- 63. "Evita" role: EVA
- 64. Part of a parka: HOOD
- 65. Laundry worker: IRONER
- 66. ___ stage: REM
- 67. English princess who competed in the 1976 Olympics: ANNE
- 68. In a rational way: SANELY
- 69. Old ___ (Yale, affectionately): ELI
down
- 1. Word before top or party: PAJAMA
- 2. Book of the Bible or an event described in it: EXODUS
- 3. Comeback: RETORT
- 4. Tolkien creature: ORC
- 5. Like some rich soil: LOAMY
- 6. Geek: DWEEB
- 7. "Siddhartha" writer: HESSE
- 8. Santa ___ winds: ANA
- 9. Roofer's cover: TARP
- 10. Insurance submission: CLAIM
- 11. Sled dog: MALAMUTE
- 12. One taking a close look: ANALYZER
- 13. Clampett patriarch: JED
- 19. "___ Rather Be With Me" (1967 hit): SHED
- 21. Uses an aerosol: SPRAYS
- 25. Monopolizes: HOGS
- 26. Bell sound: DONG
- 28. Bro's sibling: SIS
- 31. Consider: DEEM
- 34. Work on a gravestone, e.g.: ETCH
- 35. Antiquity, in antiquity: ELD
- 36. Rarity at Alcatraz: ESCAPE
- 37. Neighbor of Nigeria: CAMEROON
- 38. Kurosawa classic: RASHOMON
- 39. Violinist Leopold: AUER
- 40. What some dieters do: YOYO
- 41. ___ canto: BEL
- 45. Swamp beast, informally: CROC
- 47. Patriot Paul: REVERE
- 48. Senseless talk: DRIVEL
- 49. Part of an Italian sub: SALAMI
- 51. Tolerate: ABIDE
- 53. Fabric once described as "comfort in action": ORLON
- 54. "The Dark Knight" actor: CAINE
- 55. Prepare to be knighted: KNEEL
- 57. Speaker of baseball: TRIS
- 60. When repeated, a lively dance: CHA
- 61. Detergent brand: ERA
- 62. Word after fish or French: FRY
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.