NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for October 16, 2015

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Friday, October 16, 2015

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:34 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, October 16, 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.

56 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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Thursday, October 15, 2015

across

1. Did some gardening: HOED
5. Food product whose name is used nowadays mostly in a nonfood way: SPAM
9. Pro-___: AMS
12. One bit: INTHELEAST
14. Not connected: UNLINKED
15. Danger for a small boat: LEETIDE
17. Puccini title heroine: TOSCA
18. Home that's never left?: SNAILSHELL
20. Working as assigned: ONTASK
22. Orpheus or Spartacus, by birth: THRACIAN
23. Swinish sound: OINK
24. Christmas edible: YULELOG
27. Ones powerless to move?: GLIDERS
29. Word with code or road: ACCESS
30. Volcanic peak in the Cascades: SHASTA
32. 1978 Superman portrayer: REEVE
33. Mesmerized: RAPT
34. ___ be tied: FITTO
36. Follower of "roger," to a radioer: WILCO
39. Like cherries jubilee: FLAMBE
41. Big name in appliances: WHIRLPOOL
42. "Are you joking?": REALLY
44. Intl. treaty subject: NTEST
45. Pass an exam with flying colors: ACEIT
46. Yuri's love in "Doctor Zhivago": LARA
47. Flimflams: ROOKS
49. Gazed: PEERED
51. Comfortably warm: TOASTY
52. [How horrible!]: SHUDDER
55. Our place in the universe: MILKYWAY
57. Prefix with -dextrous: AMBI
58. Entree: MAINDISH
62. One of Goya's Black Paintings also known as "El Perro": THEDOG
63. Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, with "the": GUGGENHEIM
66. Some bandage materials: GAUZES
70. In olden times: AGESAGO
71. Satellite dish precursors: ANTENNAS
72. Companion of Quasimodo: ESMERALDA
73. Drunk's ailment, for short: DTS
74. Prohibitionists: DRYS
75. Picnic side dish: SLAW

down

1. Help for the flummoxed: HINT
2. Roman emperor who overthrew Galba: OTHO
3. Slippery ones: EELS
4. Certain clergywoman: DEACONESS
5. Phoenix athletes: SUNS
6. Bust supporter: PLINTH
7. Capital ESE of Istanbul: ANKARA
8. Ruling family of Florence: MEDICI
9. Flagon fillers: ALES
10. Socratic ___: METHOD
11. Backup player: SIDELINER
13. Relating to national governments: STATAL
16. Order with a Grand Lodge: ELKS
19. Jessica with an Oscar for "Tootsie": LANGE
21. Smidgen: SKOSH
24. Desert bloomer: YUCCAPLANT
25. "Step aside, I can help": LETME
26. Certain stovetop hazard: GASFIRE
28. Real go-getter: LIVEWIRE
29. Pooch's sound: ARF
31. Muffler attachment: TAILPIPE
32. Modernize, as machinery: RETOOL
35. Until due: TOTERM
37. 1980s-'90s courtroom drama: LALAW
38. Dress shirt insert: COLLARSTAY
40. Straddled: BESTRODE
41. Hits sharply: WHACKS
43. Celebratory cry: YAY
48. Financial guru Suze: ORMAN
50. Wharton who wrote "Ethan Frome": EDITH
51. 1964 Summer Olympics: TOKYOGAMES
52. Epic tale: SAGA
53. Flimflammed: HUMBUGGED
54. Makes cutting remarks toward: DIGSAT
56. Places pigeons perch: LEDGES
59. Secured: INHAND
60. Calorie watcher: DIETER
61. Climb (up): SHINNY
64. "Super" parts of the psyche: EGOS
65. Church service: MASS
67. Eurasia's ___ Mountains: URAL
68. Mrs. F. Scott Fitzgerald: ZELDA
69. Espied: SAW

Hints and full breakdown for Oct 15

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.