NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 23, 2016
Friday, December 23, 2016
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, December 23, 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
- 54
Down clues & answers
- 11
- 30
- 32
- 43
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, December 22, 2016
across
- 1. Hitchcock, for one: FRED
- 5. Leave rolling in the aisles: SLAY
- 9. Divulge: REVE
- 13. Women's beauty magazine: LURE
- 14. Zilch: NONE
- 15. Army V.I.P.: GENER
- 16. Islands attire: OHASHIRTS
- 18. Certain football pass: LATER
- 19. Bright-eyed: ERT
- 20. Fencing option: EPEE
- 21. Huge: COLOSS
- 22. Narrow valley: GLEN
- 23. Buddy: BRO
- 24. TV character who says "You know I wouldn't talk in front of anyone but you": MRED
- 25. Like some sex: PREMARIT
- 30. Support group for adolescents: ATEEN
- 32. What may be dispensed from a dispenser: SOAP
- 33. Phone button: REDI
- 34. International prize first awarded to Stephen Hawking in 1979: BERTEINSTEINMED
- 37. Claim: LEGE
- 38. Things that may all be off: BETS
- 39. Conclude negotiations: DOADE
- 40. Taverns and such: ESELLERS
- 42. Buildup behind a dam: SILT
- 43. ___ bran: OAT
- 44. Pirate captain mentioned in Poe's "The Gold-Bug": KIDD
- 45. With 42-Down, home construction material ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme: UMINUM
- 49. Modest skirt: MIDI
- 50. Perfect: IDE
- 53. Whales like the one in "Moby-Dick": BINOS
- 54. Prudish: PURITANIC
- 56. Checks for the ex: IMONY
- 57. Actor Ken: OLIN
- 58. Like arrangements for some wedding receptions: FLOR
- 59. Pilgrims John and Priscilla: DENS
- 60. Leader between Mao and Jiang: DENG
- 61. Not dressy: CASU
down
- 1. Arctic shipping hazard: FLOE
- 2. Region in western Germany: RUHR
- 3. Part of Q.E.D.: ERAT
- 4. From abroad?: DES
- 5. Took potshots (at): SNIPED
- 6. Actress Sophia: LOREN
- 7. A penny is a small one: ANTE
- 8. Word cried 15 times in a row by Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally ...": YES
- 9. Not a knockoff: REAL
- 10. Inner: Prefix: ENTO
- 11. Some aerial show formations: VEES
- 12. Bungles: ERRS
- 15. Melancholy: GLOOM
- 17. Moon of Saturn that's a French woman's name: HELENE
- 21. Brunch option: CREPE
- 22. Fairy tale sister: GRETEL
- 23. Teacher's handfuls: BRATS
- 24. Database manager's option: MERGE
- 25. Writes on a blog: POSTS
- 26. One of the founders of Westworld, on HBO's "Westworld": ARNOLD
- 27. Prepare for framing again, say: REMAT
- 28. Fingered: IDED
- 29. Big-selling Procter & Gamble product: TIDE
- 30. Competent: ABLE
- 31. Course requirements?: TEES
- 32. Dog in the funnies: SNERT
- 35. Girder also known as a rolled-steel joist: IBEAM
- 36. Victor's cry: IDIDIT
- 41. Punk: LOUSY
- 42. See 45-Across: SIDING
- 44. Competitor of Sapporo: KIRIN
- 45. Competitor of eBay: UBID
- 46. Act out: MIME
- 47. A party to: INON
- 48. Rennes rejections: NONS
- 49. Lounging slipper: MULE
- 50. "To Live and Die ___" (1985 film): INLA
- 51. God, in Granada: DIOS
- 52. Neutral shade: ECRU
- 54. Peeved, informally: POD
- 55. Steelers' grp.: AFC
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.