NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for October 12, 2016

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:21 PM ETHow we make hints

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

72 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 11, 2016

across

1. Hawaiian greeting: ALOHA
6. Growth on the forest floor: MOSS
10. Seller of the Söderhamn sofa: IKEA
14. Like three NASA rovers: LUNAR
15. "This is disastrous!": OHNO
16. Lima's home: PERU
17. PowerPoint slide with fake data?: ARTIFICIALCHART
20. Hershey bar with toffee: SKOR
21. Go to the mall: SHOP
22. "Duty, ___, Country" (West Point motto): HONOR
23. Fancy affair: GALA
25. Pressing business?: WINERY
26. Sliced serving with ritzy crackers?: CHEESESOFINE
31. Restaurant basketful: ROLLS
32. Stir-fry vessel: WOK
33. Octagonal sign: STOP
37. Everybody: ALL
38. Rag covered in dirt?: TABLOID
42. Pal of Piglet and Pooh: ROO
43. "Holy moly!": GEEZ
45. Bill ___, the Science Guy: NYE
46. Japanese auto import: ISUZU
48. Pep squad member's lament?: IMOUTOFCHEER
52. Cotton fabric: MUSLIN
55. Flying circus performer?: FLEA
56. ___ Sam: UNCLE
57. Eatery with sidewalk tables, often: CAFE
59. Breckinridge of fiction: MYRA
63. Briefs from Walmart or Target?: CHAINSUNDERWEAR
66. Biggest city on the Big Island: HILO
67. Length x width, for a rectangle: AREA
68. Innocent's reply to "Who did this?": NOTME
69. Store sign: OPEN
70. Like morning grass: DEWY
71. From Zurich, e.g.: SWISS

down

1. "Woe is me": ALAS
2. Stand in the shadows: LURK
3. Not fooled by: ONTO
4. What may keep a mohawk in place: HAIRGEL
5. Dog's yap: ARF
6. Latte alternatives: MOCHAS
7. Lima's home: OHIO
8. "Oh, ___!" ("Good one, girlfriend!"): SNAP
9. Fa follower: SOL
10. Products featuring Siri: IPHONES
11. "The Family Circus" creator Bil: KEANE
12. Goof: ERROR
13. Cowboy singer Gene: AUTRY
18. Capri or Man: ISLE
19. Something a thoughtful person strokes: CHIN
24. Lead-in for prof. or V.P.: ASST
25. Reference page edited by a group: WIKI
26. Steep rock face: CRAG
27. Golfer's target: HOLE
28. Glamour rival: ELLE
29. It gives a little hoot: OWLET
30. Rock's ___ Fighters: FOO
34. "You make a good point": TRUE
35. Primordial muck: OOZE
36. Rain really hard: POUR
39. Unknown source, informally: ANON
40. School about 40 miles from S.L.C.: BYU
41. "God does not play ___ with the world": Einstein: DICE
44. Ginormous number: ZILLION
47. Cloth made famous by infomercials: SHAMWOW
49. Appearance: MIEN
50. When nothing seems to go right: OFFDAY
51. Escape (from): FLEE
52. A ton, in Tijuana: MUCHO
53. Square: UNHIP
54. Item on many a bathroom floor: SCALE
57. Successfully treat: CURE
58. From square one: ANEW
60. Supposed sighting in Tibet: YETI
61. Aries animals: RAMS
62. God who sounds like he was mentioned in the preceding clue: ARES
64. ___ sack: SAD
65. E.R. staffers: RNS

Hints and full breakdown for Oct 11

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.