NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 25, 2016
Sunday, December 25, 2016
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, December 25, 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
- 26
- 53
- 57
- 78
- 85
- 111
Down clues & answers
- 12
- 30
- 38
- 40
- 82
- 87
- 92
- 103
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, December 24, 2016
across
- 1. Something fracked in fracking: SHALE
- 6. Worms and such: MALWARE
- 13. Attractive young woman, in rap slang: SHAWTY
- 14. Connection site?: EHARMONY
- 16. Fragrant dressing: POMADE
- 17. 2006 Justin Timberlake #1 hit: SEXYBACK
- 18. Arboreal sci-fi creature: EWOK
- 19. Fifth player to hit 600 homers: SOSA
- 21. Fruta that's sour: LIMON
- 22. Saint often depicted with a lamb: AGNES
- 24. Celebration that coincided with Truman turning 61: VEDAY
- 26. Japan's ___ Castle: EDO
- 27. Cassis cocktail: KIR
- 28. Tesla competitor: EDISON
- 30. Mission group: CREW
- 31. Slacker's opposite, in modern lingo: TRYHARD
- 33. Form W-2 abbr.: FICA
- 35. Palindromic 1976 greatest hits album: OLEELO
- 36. Harmless shooter: MARBLE
- 40. Say yes or no, say: RSVP
- 42. What's usually about 12 people?: JURYBOX
- 43. Danish shoe maker with more than 1,000 global stores: ECCO
- 46. Senior: ELDEST
- 48. HSN competitor: QVC
- 49. Sushi bar selection: AHI
- 50. Astronomer who coined the term "nova": BRAHE
- 51. Bomb with wheels: EDSEL
- 53. Capability of whales and dolphins: SONAR
- 55. Navy ___: YARD
- 57. Italian "dear": CARA
- 58. Kind of car commonly seen in cities: ELEVATOR
- 60. Evil spirits: INCUBI
- 62. Prohibitionists' target: DEMONRUM
- 63. Company that owns Paramount: VIACOM
- 64. Stuff to mine: RAWDATA
- 65. Order setting: ABBEY
down
- 1. Many a cabaret performer: SHOWGIRL
- 2. Sandwich often served with Dijon mustard: HAMONRYE
- 3. Not out: AWAKE
- 4. Firm backing?: LTD
- 5. Observation satellites, so to speak: EYES
- 6. Fixes: MESSES
- 7. Leading: AHEADOF
- 8. Starting point of many a red-eye: LAX
- 9. How Stephen Colbert sometimes speaks: WRYLY
- 10. Prefix whose last two letters are a prefix meaning the same thing: AMBI
- 11. Nomad: ROAMER
- 12. Make tough to make out: ENCODE
- 13. Address: SPEAKTO
- 15. "Like" relative: YKNOW
- 20. He wrote "Venus favors the bold": OVID
- 23. Navy ___: SEALS
- 25. Ill will: ANIMUS
- 29. Cattle herder: DROVER
- 30. City of 150,000+ between Raleigh and Durham: CARY
- 32. "My ___!": HERO
- 34. ___ d'identité: CARTE
- 37. Wing covering: BBQSAUCE
- 38. Beau: LOVERBOY
- 39. Say LIKE THIS!: EXCLAIM
- 41. Develop: PLAYOUT
- 42. Heckle: JEER
- 43. Let up: EASED
- 44. Ire: CHOLER
- 45. Date night choice: CINEMA
- 47. Essential principle of Hinduism: DHARMA
- 50. Strike while the iron is hot?: BRAND
- 52. Mr. T vehicle: DCCAB
- 54. State publicly: AVOW
- 56. Temperamental type: DIVA
- 59. Chorus syllable: TRA
- 61. Projecting point: NIB
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.