NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 28, 2015
Monday, December 28, 2015
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, December 28, 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
- 11
- 31
- 56
- 58
- 68
Down clues & answers
- 12
- 33
- 51
- 54
- 64
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Sunday, December 27, 2015
across
- 1. Savor, as a drink: SIPON
- 6. Takes down a peg: ABASES
- 12. Je t'aime : French :: ___ : Spanish: TEAMO
- 17. Sell at a discount, say: UNLOAD
- 19. Female toon with a "dollink" Boris: NATASHA
- 21. Grackles and grebes: AVIANS
- 23. PP: SHOPPINGCENTER
- 25. Attic: GARRET
- 26. Horror franchise beginning in 2004: SAW
- 27. Lasting for years and years: AGELONG
- 28. Dirt road hazards: RUTS
- 30. Melee: FRAY
- 31. Street of film fame: ELM
- 32. You might take it out for a drive: IRON
- 33. Court, for short: RHYME
- 35. Pile of stones used to mark a trail: CAIRN
- 36. DD: DEADENDS
- 39. First antibacterial soap brand: DIAL
- 40. "Oh, please, that's enough": SPAREME
- 42. Derisive sounds: SNORTS
- 43. Abbr. in many airport names: INTL
- 44. Jubilant: ELATED
- 45. Portrait on Chinese renminbi bills: MAO
- 46. AA: NCAAFINALS
- 48. Extra bed, maybe: COT
- 51. Bad thing on a record: BLOT
- 53. The Jedi and the Sith, e.g.: FOES
- 54. "Thursday Night Football" airer: CBS
- 55. Alaska tourist attraction: AURORA
- 57. Director of 2015's "Chi-Raq": LEE
- 58. Capital with the Norsk Folkemuseum: OSLO
- 60. Travel info source, for short: AAA
- 61. London cathedral: STPAULS
- 62. Volunteer's response: ICAN
- 64. WW: WINDOWFRAME
- 68. Historic German admiral Maximilian von ___: SPEE
- 69. Fizzy drink: SODAPOP
- 71. Michael of "Saturday Night Live": CHE
- 72. Cry to a husky: MUSH
- 74. "When I was a ___ ...": LAD
- 75. Riot opportunist: LOOTER
- 76. Locale for cranberries: BOG
- 77. Very much: ALOT
- 79. Uniform: EVEN
- 81. See 114-Across: ELF
- 82. OO: ONIONRINGS
- 85. Hodges who managed the Mets to a World Series title: GIL
- 86. Little Rascals boy: FARINA
- 88. Tolkien tree creatures: ENTS
- 89. Mars features, mistakenly: CANALS
- 92. Befuddling: ADDLING
- 94. Peeps heard by Bo Peep: BAAS
- 95. ZZ: JAZZDUET
- 97. When repeated, a Yale fight song: BOOLA
- 98. Playwright Clifford: ODETS
- 100. "How ___!": RUDE
- 101. Modern TV feature, for short: DVR
- 102. Hazy memory: BLUR
- 103. Grps. with the motto "Every child. One voice": PTAS
- 104. Conquest of 1953: EVEREST
- 107. Susan of "The Partridge Family": DEY
- 108. Silas in "The Da Vinci Code," notably: ALBINO
- 110. NN: MINNESOTATWINS
- 113. Dances at the Tropicana Club: SALSAS
- 114. Santa Claus portrayer in 81-Across: EDASNER
- 115. Greet from behind the wheel: TOOTAT
- 116. Witherspoon of "Legally Blonde": REESE
- 117. Shot put and long jump: EVENTS
- 118. "Auld Lang Syne" and others: POEMS
down
- 1. Figured (out): SUSSED
- 2. Has an inspiration: INHALES
- 3. Agricultural figure in "The Canterbury Tales": PLOWMAN
- 4. Alley ___: OOP
- 5. Pep Boys competitor: NAPA
- 6. Whites, informally: ANGLOS
- 7. Strips shortly after getting up in the morning?: BACON
- 8. Rate ___ (be perfect): ATEN
- 9. Spicy fruit beverage often used as a tequila chaser: SANGRITA
- 10. Cornerstone abbr.: EST
- 11. Singer Crow: SHERYL
- 12. Identifies in a Facebook photo: TAGS
- 13. A Perón: EVA
- 14. Soaring cost?: AIRFARE
- 15. RR: MARRIEDCOUPLE
- 16. Like macho push-ups: ONEARM
- 18. Explore deeply: DIGINTO
- 20. Calla lily family: ARUM
- 22. "Gypsy" composer: STYNE
- 24. Techies, stereotypically: NERDS
- 29. Gasless car: TESLA
- 34. Java order that packs less of a punch: HALFCAF
- 35. What Brits call "red sauce": CATSUP
- 37. Major-___: DOMO
- 38. Muse for D. H. Lawrence: ERATO
- 39. Some lab samples: DNAS
- 41. Assets for food critics: PALATES
- 43. Put away: ICE
- 44. Annapolis grad.: ENS
- 46. It comes before one: NOON
- 47. Building beam: IBAR
- 49. Susan who wrote "The Orchid Thief": ORLEAN
- 50. Hit with a stun gun: TASED
- 51. "Chill out, will you": BECOOL
- 52. FF: LEADOFFDOUBLE
- 53. Wig out: FLIP
- 56. Dorm V.I.P.s: RAS
- 57. Durable stocking fabric: LISLE
- 59. Like courtroom witnesses: SWORNIN
- 60. Floor: AWE
- 61. X-rated material: SMUT
- 63. D.C. athlete: NAT
- 65. Pest control brand: DCON
- 66. Sarcastic "Wonderful": OHGREAT
- 67. Tori of pop/rock: AMOS
- 70. Symbol of Middle America: PEORIA
- 73. Big name in 35-Down: HEINZ
- 76. Gaudy wrap: BOA
- 77. Industrious workers: ANTS
- 78. Some TVs and smartphones: LGS
- 80. The Impaler: VLAD
- 83. Fort Knox valuable: INGOT
- 84. To some degree: INASENSE
- 85. Beholds: GAZESAT
- 87. It's heard at a hearing: ALLRISE
- 89. West Pointer: CADET
- 90. Opposite of an early adopter: LUDDITE
- 91. Morning run time, maybe: SEVENAM
- 92. Arafat's successor as Palestinian president: ABBAS
- 93. Budget alternative: DOLLAR
- 94. Next to: BESIDE
- 95. Peers in a box: JURORS
- 96. Meetings arranged through Ashley Madison: TRYSTS
- 99. Helen Mirren, e.g.: DAME
- 100. Like an alarm clock, night after night: RESET
- 103. It may be struck on a runway: POSE
- 105. ___ diagram: VENN
- 106. 'Vette choice: TTOP
- 109. "N.Y. State of Mind" rapper: NAS
- 111. ___ system (luxury car option, briefly): NAV
- 112. Romance: WOO
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.