NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 29, 2015
Friday, May 29, 2015
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, May 29, 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
- 39
- 40
Down clues & answers
- 10
- 22
- 40
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, May 28, 2015
across
- 1. CBS's "___: Cyber": CSI
- 4. Facet: ASPECT
- 10. Sound at a sauna: AHH
- 13. Many a school benefactor: ALUM
- 14. Middle of a square, maybe: STATUE
- 15. John: LOO
- 16. Hits hard + famed spokescow = some Bach compositions: CELLOSUITES
- 18. Exceptional start?: BUT
- 19. "Star Wars" whistler, for short: ARTOO
- 20. Rends + word of regret = commuter's purchase: RAILPASS
- 22. Cloak + Egyptian deity = some spooks: CIASPIES
- 25. C. S. Lewis land: NARNIA
- 26. "That ___ you": ISNT
- 27. "Law & Order" spinoff, familiarly: SVU
- 28. Technology inside Kindles: EINK
- 29. Shakespearean assents: AYS
- 30. Show of hands?: CLAP
- 31. Noneditorial matter: ADPAGE
- 33. With 34-Across, 50-50 chance ... or a hint to answering six equations in this puzzle: EVEN
- 34. See 33-Across: ODDS
- 35. Superior woman?: ABBESS
- 38. Rain slightly: SPIT
- 39. Jumper line: HEM
- 42. Back: REAR
- 43. Home of Umm al-Quwain, for short: UAE
- 44. Something braided on a farm: MANE
- 45. Monotony: TEDIUM
- 48. Rear + floral rings = colorful birds: BLUETITS
- 50. Relief org. + stagger = soup kitchen offering: FREEMEAL
- 52. Back in: RETRO
- 53. "Holy ... !!!": OMG
- 54. Duke's ride + slowly = this puzzle's theme: ALTERNATION
- 57. Turkoman, e.g.: RUG
- 58. Lines often in Latin: MOTTOS
- 59. Drops out?: NAPS
- 60. Classic roadsters: MGS
- 61. "Don't rush me!": INASEC
- 62. Choice word: ANY
down
- 1. Intelligentsia: CLERISY
- 2. Mideast V.I.P.s: SULTANS
- 3. "Whoa, whoa, whoa - go back": IMLOST
- 4. Fool: ASS
- 5. Good name for an R.V. inhabitant?: STU
- 6. Couples: PAIRSUP
- 7. Italian suffix for "small": ETTA
- 8. Bring up to speed: CUEIN
- 9. Palo Alto-based car company: TESLA
- 10. NATO member since 2009: ALBANIA
- 11. Dormitories and apartments: HOUSING
- 12. Winter serving in a Japanese restaurant: HOTSAKE
- 13. Gum arabic source: ACACIA
- 17. No longer available, as a book: Abbr.: OOP
- 21. Readies: PREPS
- 23. Key chain?: ISLES
- 24. Writer Osnos of The New Yorker: EVAN
- 30. Pharmacy chain: CVS
- 31. Bye line?: ADIEU
- 32. "Silent Spring" topic, in brief: DDT
- 33. Spine-tingling: EERIE
- 34. Olympic Australis is the world's largest one: OPAL
- 35. Novel, sonata or sonnet: ARTFORM
- 36. One hanging around a bar?: BEERMUG
- 37. No-goodniks: BADEGGS
- 38. Some temporary residences: SUBLETS
- 39. Citizen of the second-oldest independent country in the New World: HAITIAN
- 40. Topic of the second law of thermodynamics: ENTROPY
- 41. Quark-plus-antiquark particles: MESONS
- 44. Italian smoker, for short: MTETNA
- 46. "Savoriness," in Japanese: UMAMI
- 47. Head, in slang: MELON
- 49. A good one is under 3.00, in brief: ERA
- 51. The U.N.'s Kofi ___ Annan: ATTA
- 55. Anonymous name in court cases: ROE
- 56. White House advisory grp.: NSC
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.