NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for October 5, 2016

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

Yes. Each date we have covered is in the crossword archive .

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:22 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Wednesday, October 5, 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.

74 clues · jump to Across or Down. Tap a tile for one letter, or Answer for the whole word.

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.

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Previous The Crossword answer

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

across

1. President who ended "don't ask, don't tell": OBAMA
6. Women's suffrage leader Carrie Chapman ___: CATT
10. Swanky: POSH
14. Fortuneteller's deck: TAROT
15. "Famous" snack maker: AMOS
16. Teeny: ITTY
17. Overboard, to a sailor: INTHEDRINK
19. Maryland athlete, for short: TERP
20. Talk back to: SASS
21. Actress Skye of "Say Anything ...": IONE
22. Jazz vocalist Carmen ___: MCRAE
23. Data storage devices: MEMORYCHIPS
25. "Let me take care of that": IGOTIT
29. Function: USE
30. Kathmandu's land: NEPAL
31. Chicken of the Sea product: TUNA
34. ___ team (police unit): SWAT
38. Punch in the mouth, slangily: KNUCKLESANDWICH
41. Neither good nor bad: SOSO
42. To whom God said "For dust you are and to dust you will return": ADAM
43. Nintendo character who hatches from an egg: YOSHI
44. Prefix with athlete: TRI
46. Website that investigates urban legends: SNOPES
47. Bright sort: SMARTCOOKIE
53. International court site, with "The": HAGUE
54. Jagged cliff: CRAG
55. ___ fide: BONA
59. With 2-Down, star of 2003's "Hulk": ERIC
60. Backpack containers where you can find the ends of 17-, 23-, 38- and 47-Across: LUNCHBOXES
62. No-longer-fashionable fur: MINK
63. Common ingredient in lotions: ALOE
64. Dance move added to the O.E.D. in 2015: TWERK
65. Things to hang coats on: PEGS
66. "What a ___!" ("Too bad!"): PITY
67. Meanders: WENDS

down

1. Soul singer Redding: OTIS
2. See 59-Across: BANA
3. The "A" of B.A.: ARTS
4. ___ scale (measure of hardness): MOHS
5. Had dinner: ATE
6. Rebound on a pool table: CAROM
7. ___ acid (protein builder): AMINO
8. Photocopier powder: TONER
9. "Naughty!": TSK
10. Is a romancer, old-style: PITCHESWOO
11. Former "S.N.L." comic Cheri, whose last name rhymes with her first: OTERI
12. Bridle rein, e.g.: STRAP
13. Promotes, with "up": HYPES
18. Weight-loss program: DIET
22. Show hosts, in brief: MCS
23. Skim or 2%: MILK
24. Chinese money: YUAN
25. Signs, as a contract: INKS
26. Jets quarterback Smith: GENO
27. Grand work: OPUS
28. Street vendors selling Mexican food: TACOTRUCKS
31. Senator Cruz: TED
32. Made in ___: USA
33. Place of service for John McCain, briefly: NAM
35. Bit of smoke: WISP
36. Aftereffect from working out: ACHE
37. "___ ends here!" (fighting words): THIS
39. Of the flock: LAIC
40. Unit of force: DYNE
45. GPS calculation: Abbr.: RTE
46. [Ah, me]: SIGH
47. Oldest of the Three Stooges: SHEMP
48. ___ Antoinette: MARIE
49. Getting into a gray area?: AGING
50. Eyes: Lat.: OCULI
51. Words after "like it" and "ready": ORNOT
52. Singer Musgraves who won a 2013 Grammy for Best Country Album: KACEY
55. Heavyweight champ Riddick: BOWE
56. Headstrong animals: OXEN
57. Do 10 crosswords in a row, say, with "out": NERD
58. Questions: ASKS
60. Once around the track: LAP
61. "Oh, before I forget ...," in a text: BTW

Hints and full breakdown for Oct 4

More daily puzzle hints

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.