NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for March 12, 2017
Sunday, March 12, 2017
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, March 12, 2017. 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
- 68
- 71
- 73
- 84
- 89
Down clues & answers
- 12
- 41
- 57
- 85
- 89
- 98
- 99
- 102
- 111
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, March 11, 2017
across
- 1. Genre akin to indie rock: ALTPOP
- 7. Fellow: BLOKE
- 12. Co-organizer of the 1970 Women's Strike for Equality: GLORIASTEINEM
- 14. Modern topic in race relations: WHITEPRIVILEGE
- 15. Sci-fi natives of the planet Kashyyyk: WOOKIEES
- 16. Little monsters: SNOTS
- 17. Programming keyword: ELSE
- 18. Longtime TV tavern: MOES
- 20. To whom Durocher was referring when he said "Nice guys finish last": OTT
- 22. Little wriggler: EFT
- 23. Wise one: SAVANT
- 26. Go through the roof: SOAR
- 27. Where bows may be made: SHRINE
- 28. It's described as fine and flakelike in Exodus: MANNA
- 29. Piece of glib journalism often written under a tight deadline: HOTTAKE
- 32. Theatrical hybrid: DRAMEDY
- 34. Insect that's born pregnant: APHID
- 35. 8, e.g.: FIGURE
- 37. "Are you blind, ump?," e.g.: JEER
- 38. Course on courses, for short: HOMEEC
- 39. Tearing up, say: SAD
- 42. Tolkien's Prancing Pony, for one: INN
- 43. 3, 4, 5 and occasionally more: PARS
- 44. Opposite of doddery: SPRY
- 45. Quite off: WEIRD
- 47. Lover of history?: OLDFLAME
- 51. Field in which a helmet and gloves are often worn: VIRTUALREALITY
- 53. Award-winning Cartoon Network series with Finn the Human and Jake the Dog: ADVENTURETIME
- 54. Repeated lyric in the Who's "Tommy": SEEME
- 55. Twist and turn: GYRATE
down
- 1. Uniform: ALIKE
- 2. "There's not a ___ can do": LOTI
- 3. Word with family or Christmas: TREE
- 4. Main, say: PIPE
- 5. Sculler: OARSMAN
- 6. Wave function denoter in quantum mechanics: PSI
- 7. Some Vietnam War protests: BEINS
- 8. Disney's "___ & Stitch": LILO
- 9. Corresponding exactly: ONETOONE
- 10. Frat party stunt: KEGSTAND
- 11. Suffix in linguistics: EME
- 12. Popular word game: GHOST
- 13. Soap box?: TVSET
- 14. Bolt (down): WOLF
- 15. Like Tom Thumb: WEE
- 19. Wired: ONEDGE
- 21. What someone may be holding while waiting: TRAY
- 23. Kind of roe: SHAD
- 24. What had a double standard in the Bible?: ARK
- 25. Try to win: VIEFOR
- 26. Uniform: SAME
- 27. Ruckus: STIR
- 28. Fashion designer Ecko: MARC
- 29. Traveler to a certain 27-Across: HAJI
- 30. Request at the dentist's: OPENWIDE
- 31. "How dare they!": THENERVE
- 33. Regret: RUE
- 36. "Apologies": IMSORRY
- 38. Rushed: HADAT
- 39. Rush: SPATE
- 40. Red ___: ARMY
- 41. Red ___: DYE
- 43. Cut back: PRUNE
- 44. Snail trail: SLIME
- 46. Paragraph in the newspaper, say: ITEM
- 48. Look the wrong way?: LEER
- 49. Subject of a cellphone cap: DATA
- 50. Move like a fairy: FLIT
- 51. Biological duct: VAS
- 52. Palooka: LUG
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.