NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 5, 2016
Monday, December 5, 2016
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Monday, December 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.
Across clues & answers
- 33
- 43
- 56
- 61
Down clues & answers
- 65
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Sunday, December 4, 2016
across
- 1. Kind of marker: FELTTIP
- 8. Auto-sharing company: ZIPCAR
- 14. Solid: STABLE
- 20. Attack: LAYINTO
- 21. Harshly bright: AGLARE
- 22. Earning a Purple Heart, say: HEROIC
- 23. ___ into a major film star: ORLANDOBLOOMED
- 25. 7Up, in old ads, with "the": UNCOLA
- 26. Vale: GLEN
- 27. Salacious look: LEER
- 28. Sibling of Helios and Selene, in myth: EOS
- 30. Something to shoot with, briefly: SLR
- 31. "Phooey!": AWRATS
- 34. ___ for just the right film role: HELENHUNTED
- 39. Many a suit has one, for short: MBA
- 42. New employee: HIRE
- 43. "You think I won't!": DAREME
- 44. Bio word: NEE
- 45. Radius, for one: ARMBONE
- 47. ___ Doggie of old cartoons: AUGIE
- 48. Psychedelic experience: LSDTRIP
- 52. ___ several filmmaking awards: JAMESGARNERED
- 54. Maker of business jets: CESSNA
- 55. Spellbound: AGOG
- 56. Hybrid citrus fruits: UGLIS
- 57. "The Lion King" villain: SCAR
- 59. Stick close to: HUG
- 60. Went after: ASSAILED
- 64. Something that turns up when you snap your fingers?: THUMB
- 65. Pay dirt: ORE
- 66. ___ a new film adaptation: SEANPENNED
- 69. ___ two film studios against each other: BRADPITTED
- 71. ___ nova (musical style of the late Middle Ages): ARS
- 72. Like businesses on Yelp: RATED
- 73. Land near a wharf: QUAYSIDE
- 74. Org. with the magazine America's 1st Freedom: NRA
- 75. Spellbound: AWED
- 76. Leader who was Time's 2007 Person of the Year: PUTIN
- 77. Italy's Isola d'___: ELBA
- 81. "Ha! I was right!": TOLDYA
- 83. ___ for meatier film roles: SHELLEYLONGED
- 87. Brisk tempo: ALLEGRO
- 89. Cads: ROUES
- 90. Like food: EATABLE
- 91. "Despicable Me" supervillain: GRU
- 92. Evidence of a brawl: SHINER
- 94. Baylor's home: WACO
- 95. Salon offering: TAN
- 96. ___ the film deal: GLENNCLOSED
- 99. Giggled: TEHEED
- 101. Honey ___ Clusters (breakfast cereal): OAT
- 102. Milne character: ROO
- 103. Java neighbor: BALI
- 104. Church recess: APSE
- 108. Too much, in music: TROPPO
- 111. ___ himself as a big-screen film star: RUSSELLBRANDED
- 117. "If you say so": IGUESS
- 118. Strive: ASPIRE
- 119. Actions of environmental extremists: ECOTAGE
- 120. Stacking game: TETRIS
- 121. Pines: YEARNS
- 122. Confronts: TAKESON
down
- 1. Lash: FLOG
- 2. Lady's man: EARL
- 3. Country singer Lovett: LYLE
- 4. First African-American Disney princess: TIANA
- 5. Spike TV's former name: TNN
- 6. "___ be my honor": ITD
- 7. Sunbathing locale: POOLAREA
- 8. Jewelry chain: ZALES
- 9. Borodin's prince: IGOR
- 10. 1993 accord grp.: PLO
- 11. Surveillance device: CAM
- 12. Middle word in a mall map phrase: ARE
- 13. Cash in: REDEEM
- 14. "Quiet down!": SHUSH
- 15. Half a score: TEN
- 16. Story ___: ARC
- 17. Immunity enhancer: BOOSTERSHOT
- 18. French city near the Belgian border: LILLE
- 19. Modern greeting: ECARD
- 24. ___ noire: BETE
- 29. Student taking Contracts, maybe: ONEL
- 32. Villagers the Grinch stole from in Dr. Seuss: WHOS
- 33. Surround: RING
- 34. Hogwarts groundskeeper: HAGRID
- 35. Native New Yorkers: ERIES
- 36. Eco-friendly building certification, for short: LEED
- 37. Runner-up's amount in an auction: UNDERBID
- 38. New York team: NETS
- 39. Goya subject: MAJA
- 40. Speak for oneself?: BRAG
- 41. Some rounds: AMMO
- 43. Settled a score old-style: DUELED
- 46. Got going: BEGAN
- 47. Aslant: ANGLED
- 49. Seafood order: SCAMPI
- 50. Temper: INURE
- 51. Summoned, in a way: PAGED
- 53. In bankruptcy: RUINED
- 57. Michael ___, Brett Halliday detective: SHAYNE
- 58. Things to chew on: CUDS
- 61. Aid for a big painting project: SPRAYGUN
- 62. Naval conflict: SEAWAR
- 63. Put up: ANTE
- 64. Straggles: TRAILS
- 66. December temp: SANTA
- 67. Morris who directed "The Fog of War": ERROL
- 68. Like you wouldn't believe: ASALLGETOUT
- 69. Gable part: BUTLER
- 70. Singer Marie: TEENA
- 73. In line: QUEUED
- 76. Buzz, so to speak: PHONE
- 78. Pride parade letters: LGBT
- 79. Actor Lugosi: BELA
- 80. Yemen seaport: ADEN
- 82. Laura of "Blue Velvet": DERN
- 83. Hindu honorifics: SRIS
- 84. "A likely story!": YEAHIBET
- 85. Tie (up): LACE
- 86. Western tribe: OTOE
- 88. 1993 accord city: OSLO
- 93. "Yippee!": HOORAY
- 94. "I'm waiting ...?": WELL
- 96. "Roger that": GOTIT
- 97. Vast: LARGE
- 98. Betray: CROSS
- 99. "The Twilight Zone" episodes, e.g.: TALES
- 100. Poet who wrote "In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost": DANTE
- 103. Capital NW of Jungfrau: BERN
- 105. Some info holders: PDAS
- 106. ___ lily: SEGO
- 107. Depiction in Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights": EDEN
- 109. ___ se: PER
- 110. Tire measure: Abbr.: PSI
- 112. Benefit: USE
- 113. Unwinding spot: SPA
- 114. Word before and after "yes," in the Army: SIR
- 115. Home appliance giant: RCA
- 116. Swell: AOK
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.