NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 17, 2016
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Tuesday, May 17, 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
- 49
- 57
- 64
- 68
Down clues & answers
- 29
- 52
- 54
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Monday, May 16, 2016
across
- 1. Picking out of a lineup, informally: IDING
- 6. Magazine with a "Person of the Year": TIME
- 10. Former "Meet the Press" host Marvin: KALB
- 14. Craze: MANIA
- 15. Freshly: ANEW
- 16. French lady friend: AMIE
- 17. Reason for a cast: BROKENBONE
- 19. Spanish newborn: BEBE
- 20. Period after dark, in poetry: EEN
- 21. Fifth-century pope known as "the Great": LEOI
- 22. Impressionist Claude: MONET
- 23. Ugandan tyrant Idi ___: AMIN
- 25. Piece of sports equipment that's spiked: VOLLEYBALL
- 28. Grand ___ National Park: TETON
- 30. Pie ___ mode: ALA
- 31. Insect with a stinger: BEE
- 32. Cozies keep them hot: TEAPOTS
- 36. Cutlass or 88, informally: OLDS
- 37. Family gathering place: DINNERTABLE
- 39. Leopard's marking: SPOT
- 41. Starts liking: TAKESTO
- 42. Skillet, e.g.: PAN
- 43. It's thinner as you go up: AIR
- 44. City-related: URBAN
- 48. Device with a snooze button: ALARMCLOCK
- 53. Idiot: DOPE
- 54. "I agree": METOO
- 55. Emmy winner Perlman: RHEA
- 57. Call of Duty: Black ___ (video game): OPS
- 58. Hermes' mother: MAIA
- 59. "Ready to go!" ... or a description of 17-, 25-, 37- and 48-Across?: WEREALLSET
- 62. Tesla co-founder Musk: ELON
- 63. Opera part: ARIA
- 64. Tin or titanium: METAL
- 65. Scouting groups: DENS
- 66. Something rising in a gentrifying neighborhood: RENT
- 67. Choice plane seating: AISLE
down
- 1. "Man, what a day!": IMBEAT
- 2. Comment after "You think I'm chicken?": DAREME
- 3. Part of a prank, say: INONIT
- 4. Suffix with peace or neat: NIK
- 5. Certain Scotsman: GAEL
- 6. Off-limits: TABOO
- 7. How foods are often fried: INOIL
- 8. All Supreme Court justices until 1981: MEN
- 9. Ram's mate: EWE
- 10. Meat on a skewer: KABOB
- 11. Willing to go along: AMENABLE
- 12. Defamed in print: LIBELED
- 13. Small VWs: BEETLES
- 18. Home to Vegas: Abbr.: NEV
- 22. R&B singer with the hit "It's All About Me": MYA
- 24. Cry in a game of tag: NOTIT
- 26. Foamy coffee order: LATTE
- 27. "___ Dream" (63-Across from "Lohengrin"): ELSAS
- 29. Former All-Star closer Robb: NEN
- 33. Shenanigan: ANTIC
- 34. Gem whose authenticity can be checked by rubbing it against the teeth: PEARL
- 35. Mork's birthplace, on TV: ORK
- 36. Prayer starter: OLORD
- 37. Gift to a nonprofit: DONATION
- 38. A/C measure, for short: BTU
- 39. Sent millions of emails, say: SPAMMED
- 40. Brew with a rhyming name: PALEALE
- 43. ___, amas, amat: AMO
- 45. Raises: BOOSTS
- 46. Take to a higher court: APPEAL
- 47. Snuggle: NESTLE
- 49. Speckled horses: ROANS
- 50. Utah's Sen. Hatch: ORRIN
- 51. Have an affair: CHEAT
- 52. Mauna ___ (Hawaiian peak): KEA
- 56. ___ mater: ALMA
- 59. Card game that can go on and on: WAR
- 60. Before, to a bard: ERE
- 61. Gift given while saying "Aloha!": LEI
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.