NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 1, 2015
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Tuesday, December 1, 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
- 44
- 50
Down clues & answers
- 12
- 34
- 36
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Monday, November 30, 2015
across
- 1. Add alcohol to, as punch: SPIKE
- 6. Caesar dressing?: TOGA
- 10. Letters on a Soviet rocket: CCCP
- 14. One traveling with a backpack: HIKER
- 15. Stately hardwoods: ELMS
- 16. ___ vera: ALOE
- 17. Songs for divas: OPERAARIAS
- 19. Read the ___ act: RIOT
- 20. Withdraw gradually from a mother's milk: WEAN
- 21. 1997 Grammy-winning artist whose last name is a fruit: FIONAAPPLE
- 23. Dine: EAT
- 25. Dull-colored: DRAB
- 26. Pods of cotton: BOLLS
- 29. Nurse, as a drink: SIP
- 32. Union man?: GROOM
- 35. Tibetan watchdogs: LHASAAPSOS
- 38. Orson Welles's "Citizen ___": KANE
- 39. Acorn producer: OAK
- 40. Elvis who was "all shook up": PRESLEY
- 42. 40-Across's record label: RCA
- 43. Bauxite and magnetite: ORES
- 45. Former "American Idol" judge: PAULAABDUL
- 47. Pulling a rabbit out of a hat, e.g.: MAGIC
- 49. C minor, for Beethoven's Fifth: KEY
- 50. Gets the booby prize: LOSES
- 51. Lit sign in a theater: EXIT
- 53. Writer ___ Du Bois: WEB
- 54. Noted California horse-racing venue: SANTAANITA
- 59. "Fiddlesticks!": DRAT
- 63. 39-Across, e.g.: TREE
- 64. Moneymaking skill ... or, when read as three words, what happens in 17-, 21-, 35-, 45- and 54-Across: MIDASTOUCH
- 66. Icicle's place: EAVE
- 67. ___ out a living (gets by): EKES
- 68. Song from way back: OLDIE
- 69. Strategize: PLAN
- 70. Library carrel, basically: DESK
- 71. Impoverished: NEEDY
down
- 1. "24" or "48 Hours": SHOW
- 2. Accessory for a snowman: PIPE
- 3. Furniture giant with a blue and yellow logo: IKEA
- 4. Corn seeds: KERNELS
- 5. Period in history: ERA
- 6. Actress Hatcher: TERI
- 7. Mishmash: OLIO
- 8. Gangster catcher, informally: GMAN
- 9. Longtime Syrian strongman: ASSAD
- 10. Place to leave an auto, in Britain: CARPARK
- 11. Ones providing backing for writers?: CLIPBOARDS
- 12. Air-condition: COOL
- 13. Tennis's Sampras: PETE
- 18. Toward a ship's rear: AFT
- 22. Buenos Aires's land: Abbr.: ARG
- 24. "Now!": ASAP
- 26. Begin to flower: BLOOM
- 27. Scarlett of Tara: OHARA
- 28. Body of water between France and Switzerland: LAKEGENEVA
- 29. Order to a dog to bark: SPEAK
- 30. Immigration or the economy, in a presidential election: ISSUE
- 31. Stereotypical parrot's name: POLLY
- 33. With perfect timing: ONCUE
- 34. Breakfast and lunch: MEALS
- 36. Dadaist Jean: ARP
- 37. See 55-Down: SEA
- 41. Harvard rival: YALE
- 44. "Sweet" age: SIXTEEN
- 46. War-hero candidate of 1996: BOBDOLE
- 48. Hush-hush org.: CIA
- 52. Domesticated: TAMED
- 53. "Now where ___ I?": WAS
- 54. Stairs unit: STEP
- 55. With 37-Down, shrunken body of water in Asia: ARAL
- 56. Company with a swoosh logo: NIKE
- 57. ___ of March: IDES
- 58. Something on a to-do list: TASK
- 60. Like cutting in line: RUDE
- 61. Low-pH substance: ACID
- 62. Rock's ___ Might Be Giants: THEY
- 65. 2,000 pounds: TON
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.