NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 15, 2015
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Tuesday, December 15, 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
- 25
- 35
- 38
- 69
Down clues & answers
- 12
- 31
- 37
- 40
- 46
- 52
- 59
- 63
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Monday, December 14, 2015
across
- 1. Exiled leader of Iran: SHAH
- 5. Queries: ASKS
- 9. Rugby formation: SCRUM
- 14. Like early vinyl records: MONO
- 15. [Kiss!]: MWAH
- 16. Sonnets, odes and such: POESY
- 17. National health insurance overhaul: OBAMACARE
- 19. Range through Peru and Chile: ANDES
- 20. Clay monster of Jewish folklore: GOLEM
- 21. Fed. agents: GMEN
- 23. ___ Lauderdale, Fla.: FORT
- 24. Supply-side fiscal policy popularized in the 1980s: REAGANOMICS
- 27. "I'm paying": ITSONME
- 30. Commence: START
- 31. Cat's cry: MEOW
- 32. Low-level Dungeons & Dragons monster: ORC
- 34. Puts a protective shield on: ARMORS
- 37. Dog's bark: ARF
- 38. Statement such as "They misunderestimated me": BUSHISM
- 40. Competition in which the winner always gets the last word?: BEE
- 41. Winter hand warmer: MITTEN
- 43. Record producer Brian: ENO
- 44. Lustful Le Pew: PEPE
- 45. Benjamin of "Law & Order": BRATT
- 47. Nuclear reactor insert: FUELROD
- 49. Depression-era shantytown: HOOVERVILLE
- 51. Container in a dairy barn: PAIL
- 52. Stopped working: DIED
- 53. Fundamentalist Palestinian group: HAMAS
- 57. Opposite of empties: FILLS
- 59. Title held by the people who lent their names to 17-, 24-, 38- and 49-Across: PRESIDENT
- 61. Naval battle group: FLEET
- 62. Gaze longingly upon: OGLE
- 63. "Fare thee well!": TATA
- 64. Seductive nightwear: TEDDY
- 65. Chick's place: NEST
- 66. Downward force felt on the surface of the earth, informally: ONEG
down
- 1. Airborne urban hazard: SMOG
- 2. Wanderer in search of work: HOBO
- 3. Rigidly uptight: ANAL
- 4. A to L and beyond, on a keyboard: HOMEROW
- 5. Channel for cinephiles: AMC
- 6. Walks with a brash air: SWAGGERS
- 7. Buddhist principle of fate: KARMA
- 8. Lusters: SHEENS
- 9. Wellness retreat: SPA
- 10. Verify: CONFIRM
- 11. Submarine in a Tom Clancy best seller: REDOCTOBER
- 12. Junkies: USERS
- 13. Pioneering first-person computer game: MYST
- 18. "You said it!": AMEN
- 22. Nobody at all: NOTASOUL
- 25. Added up (to): AMOUNTED
- 26. Teacher in a one-room schoolhouse: MARM
- 27. Muslim cleric: IMAM
- 28. Hatcher who co-starred in "Tomorrow Never Dies": TERI
- 29. Sentimental: SOFTBOILED
- 33. Revolutionary Guevara: CHE
- 35. Vehicle seized for auction: REPO
- 36. Tournament front-runner: SEED
- 38. Wally's kid bro, in 1950s-'60s TV: BEAV
- 39. Nonbelievers, to believers: INFIDELS
- 42. Baited with incendiary remarks: TROLLED
- 44. Accept, as a lesser charge in exchange for admitting guilt: PLEADTO
- 46. Stumble over: TRIPON
- 48. K-12: ELHI
- 49. ___ Selassie, old Ethiopian leader: HAILE
- 50. Threshold: VERGE
- 51. Fizzling sound: PFFT
- 54. Vicious: MEAN
- 55. Initial money for the pot: ANTE
- 56. Going without a date: STAG
- 58. Room where it looks like a bomb went off: STY
- 60. Theater décor: SET
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.