NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for March 12, 2016
Saturday, March 12, 2016
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Saturday, March 12, 2016. 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
- 19
- 24
- 35
- 42
- 46
Down clues & answers
- 4
- 15
- 29
- 54
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Friday, March 11, 2016
across
- 1. Phylicia of stage and screen: RASHAD
- 7. Reduce to tears?: LACERATE
- 15. Some highway conveniences: EZPASSTOLLLANES
- 17. Unwelcome war report: HEAVYCASUALTIES
- 18. French force: ARMEE
- 19. Back tracks?: BSIDES
- 20. ___-relief: BAS
- 21. Blood letters: ABO
- 22. Green org.?: PGA
- 25. Deem to be dumb: TAKEFORAFOOL
- 31. Quaint means of manipulation: FEMININEWILES
- 32. Common instruments in jazz combos: BARITONESAXES
- 33. Cyclist in peak condition?: MOUNTAINBIKER
- 34. Fine source of humor, with "the"?: THREESTOOGES
- 35. This was once "art": ARE
- 36. U.P.S. unit: Abbr.: CTN
- 37. It may come with a price to pay: TAG
- 40. Cousin of a frittata: OMELET
- 44. Major tributary of the Missouri: OSAGE
- 46. Tamarack trees: AMERICANLARCHES
- 50. Didn't stand firm in negotiations: MADECONCESSIONS
- 51. "Fish Magic" artist: PAULKLEE
- 52. Get beaten by: LOSETO
down
- 1. Aid for clean living: REHAB
- 2. Hyundai luxury sedan: AZERA
- 3. Blasts inboxes: SPAMS
- 4. Billionaire, for one: HAVE
- 5. "___ sow ...": ASYE
- 6. Award since W.W. I: DSC
- 7. Outcome in Eden: LOSSOFINNOCENCE
- 8. His: Fr.: ALUI
- 9. Dressed: CLAD
- 10. Glamour rival: ELLE
- 11. Bad singers?: RATS
- 12. "Star Wars" saga nickname: ANI
- 13. Driver's aid: TEE
- 14. What makes a top stop?: ESS
- 16. Grammy-nominated blues guitarist in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame: TABBENOIT
- 21. Husky cousins: AKITAS
- 22. Punt propeller, e.g.: POLER
- 23. Says, informally: GOES
- 24. ___ Toy Barn ("Toy Story 2" locale): ALS
- 25. Alloy of tin and lead: TERNE
- 26. Just slightly: AMITE
- 27. Order to a sommelier, maybe: ONEBOTTLE
- 28. Bow out: RESIGN
- 29. Not out, but not necessarily up: AWAKE
- 30. Doctors: FIXES
- 31. Debussy contemporary: FAURE
- 32. 1922 Physics Nobelist: BOHR
- 33. 1959 Kingston Trio hit: MTA
- 37. Explorer alternative: TAHOE
- 38. Star seeker?: AGENT
- 39. Canvas primer: GESSO
- 40. City northeast of Kiev: OREL
- 41. Head Stone: MICK
- 42. Biol. branch: ECOL
- 43. The New Yorker film critic Anthony: LANE
- 44. +/-: ORSO
- 45. Biol. and others: SCIS
- 46. Concert piece: AMP
- 47. Kid's cry: MAA
- 48. College final?: EDU
- 49. It's sometimes shown in the corner of a TV screen, for short: ASL
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.