NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 6, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, December 6, 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
- 72
- 118
- 123
Down clues & answers
- 99
- 105
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, December 5, 2015
across
- 1. Company whose name paradoxically means "shelter with no walls": RAMADA
- 7. Was consistently in the hole?: SHOTPAR
- 14. Pull out: ELICIT
- 15. Co-author of "The Yankee Years": JOETORRE
- 16. Least likely to be out to lunch?: SANEST
- 17. Tout de suite: INNOTIME
- 18. "Be Cool" co-star, 2005: UMATHURMAN
- 20. Flush: EVEN
- 21. Amsterdam of "The Dick Van Dyke Show": MOREY
- 22. Not kept secret: AIRED
- 24. Tennis's Ivanovic: ANA
- 25. Dreamland: EDEN
- 26. Vice President Alben Barkley's successor's inits.: RMN
- 27. Arcadian: RUSTIC
- 29. Adjust: SET
- 30. St. ___ parish (Crosby/Bergman movie setting): MARYS
- 32. Speak plaintively: BLEAT
- 33. His first major screen appearance was in 1940: PINOCCHIO
- 35. Daily show filmed in Burbank, Calif.: CONAN
- 38. Deplete: DRAIN
- 39. Casual invention: FIB
- 42. Sacred text of Zoroastrianism: AVESTA
- 44. Longtime record label that shares its inits. with a major government agcy.: IRS
- 45. Chocolate candy brand: ROLO
- 46. Zip: PEP
- 47. Zip: SPICE
- 49. ___ shot: JELLO
- 50. They may be endowed: ARTS
- 52. Field near the Anacostia River: RFKSTADIUM
- 54. Part of Boston's subway system that runs under Boston Harbor: BLUELINE
- 56. Funny feeling: UNEASE
- 57. Role played by Richard Gere and John Cleese: LANCELOT
- 58. Slim: MEAGER
- 59. What all the answers to should be clear?: EYETEST
- 60. Make clear, say: STRESS
down
- 1. Position papers?: RESUMES
- 2. In: ALAMODE
- 3. The world's oldest one is in Tunisia: MINARET
- 4. Winning blackjack combo: ACETEN
- 5. Full of gossip: DISHY
- 6. Island whose battlefield area is a U.S. National Historic Landmark: ATTU
- 7. Marine detector: SONAR
- 8. Actress Marilu: HENNER
- 9. Fox neighbor: OTO
- 10. ___ board: TOTE
- 11. Not to be shared with anyone: PRIVATE
- 12. Neighbor of Georgia: ARMENIA
- 13. Put on something old?: REENACT
- 15. Partner of 33-Across: JIMINYCRICKET
- 19. Cannon loader: RAMROD
- 23. Substitute, as words: DUBIN
- 26. Headed up: RAN
- 28. Warning in a school zone: SLO
- 30. Some hotel offerings: MINTS
- 31. Cows: SCARES
- 33. Step on French soil: PAS
- 34. ___ Honor: HIS
- 35. Up to, with "of": CAPABLE
- 36. Gold leaf, e.g.: OVERLAY
- 37. Triton's locale: NEPTUNE
- 39. Fall ___: FOLIAGE
- 40. Handles badly: ILLUSES
- 41. Sixtysomethings, say: BOOMERS
- 43. Rainy times: APRILS
- 45. Colored sunfish: REDEAR
- 48. Otherwise: IFNOT
- 49. Economist Yellen: JANET
- 51. Result of a split decision?: SECT
- 53. Over-the-counter antacid: TUMS
- 55. Victor at Fussell's Mill: LEE
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.