NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for August 21, 2016
Sunday, August 21, 2016
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, August 21, 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
- 51
- 63
- 119
- 120
- 123
Down clues & answers
- 36
- 37
- 46
- 53
- 66
- 79
- 88
- 112
- 113
- 114
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, August 20, 2016
across
- 1. Like a Navy seal: WATERTIGHT
- 11. Tall tale producer?: IMAX
- 15. Colorful ornamental with a trunk: AZALEATREE
- 16. Very large, informally: MEGA
- 17. One-stop shopping spot: SUPERSTORE
- 18. Battleship guess: DTEN
- 19. Advance look, commercially: PREVUE
- 20. Backing for a cartoonist: ARTBOARD
- 22. ___ Williams, Potsie player on "Happy Days": ANSON
- 24. ___-on-Thames (regatta site): HENLEY
- 25. Little bits: JOTS
- 27. Wet blanket?: DEW
- 29. Subject of the biography "Lightning in His Hand": TESLA
- 30. Girl's name in which the last three letters are equivalent to the first?: IONE
- 31. Quality wool source: MERINO
- 33. It's an imposition: TAX
- 34. Acupuncturist's supply: NEEDLES
- 36. Feeling: SENSATE
- 38. "OMG, that's enough!": TMI
- 39. Came (from): ENSUED
- 41. Hawkeye State city: AMES
- 42. John Wayne title role: HONDO
- 44. Quick on the uptake: APT
- 45. Washington Sq. Park squad: NYPD
- 46. One not yet one, say: INFANT
- 48. Something to live for: TODAY
- 50. Primitive: STONEAGE
- 52. Marcos of the Philippines: IMELDA
- 56. Minor flaw: WART
- 57. Old-fashioned auto feature: RUMBLESEAT
- 59. Front money?: ANTE
- 60. Obama's first Homeland Security secretary: NAPOLITANO
- 61. Supportive cries: YAYS
- 62. Dark brown quartz sometimes sold as a gemstone: SMOKYTOPAZ
down
- 1. One might be involved in a sting: WASP
- 2. Like la mer: AZUR
- 3. Stick with it: TAPE
- 4. High: ELEVATED
- 5. Most TV Land programming: RERUNS
- 6. Paralyzes, in a way: TASES
- 7. Education's ___ Tech: ITT
- 8. "What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta," e.g.: GROANER
- 9. Foreign term of address: HERR
- 10. Ones put on retainer?: TEETH
- 11. "Not another bite for me!": IMDONE
- 12. Imprinting tool: METALSTAMP
- 13. Like Alzheimer's disease: AGERELATED
- 14. Plot lines: XANDYAXES
- 21. Believe in: BETON
- 23. Frederick Forsyth thriller "The ___ File": ODESSA
- 25. Four-for-four Super Bowl-winning QB: JOEMONTANA
- 26. 2.5%: ONEINFORTY
- 28. Seeing right through: WISETO
- 30. Thus: INTHISWAY
- 31. All the suspects in "The Usual Suspects": MEN
- 32. ___ Land, 1954 Kirk Douglas sci-fi role: NED
- 35. Currency in Freetown: LEONE
- 37. Accept: SAYYESTO
- 40. Animato: UPTEMPO
- 43. Edmond ___, the Count of Monte Cristo: DANTES
- 45. "Your call": NAMEIT
- 47. Mountain lakes: TARNS
- 49. Lollapalooza: DILLY
- 51. 53rd "state quarter" locale: GUAM
- 53. Capriole: LEAP
- 54. "Two Years Before the Mast" author: DANA
- 55. Leaving nothing out: ATOZ
- 58. ___ Tower Gardens, National Historic Landmark in Florida: BOK
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.