NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for March 31, 2017

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Friday, March 31, 2017

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:16 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, March 31, 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.

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

1
1980s big-city mayor
2
Alphabetically rhyming river name
3
Loom
4
Baked, in Bologna
5
Grps. supporting the 30-Across
6
Wild thing?
7
Series opener
8
Modi operandi
9
Common four-year deg.
10
Novelist Jean with the 1966 best seller "Wide Sargasso Sea"
11
Things in a pod
12
Not near the beginning of
13
What has different strokes for different folks?
14
Bit of antics
21
AK-47 alternative
24
"Go away!"
25
Probe, to Brits
28
___ topping
29
Leading figure
31
Light of the world
33
Big name in kitchen utensils
34
Cleanup crew
35
"Presto chango!"
36
Media attention
37
Good practice for the show "It's Academic"
39
Montreal daily
42
Winter coat lining
43
Past
44
Winter coat lining
45
Spills it, with "up"
47
Trunk in the trunk
49
Well-kept resource
51
Hershey bar
53
Airline V.I.P.: Abbr.
55
One wearing sunglasses, stereotypically
57
Pop enthusiast?

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Thursday, March 30, 2017

across

1. Hosp. procedure: MRI
4. Not esto or eso: OTRO
8. Frances Moore ___, author of the best-selling "Diet for a Small Planet": LAPPE
13. HUD secretary Carson: BEN
14. Milling byproduct: BRAN
15. *Onetime White House nickname: MICRON
16. High-pH: ALKALINE
18. Support: UPHOLD
19. *What may keep a model's weight down?: BALSAMIC
20. "Hear me out ...": LISTEN
21. Somewhat: ABIT
22. Caught: SNARED
24. Music genre that spawned a fashion style: EMO
25. Rarest state bird: NENE
26. Walked (on): TROD
27. Shamble, e.g.: GAIT
28. "The Disrobing of Christ" painter, 1579: ELGRECO
31. Most-nominated woman ever in the Grammys: BEYONCE
33. What it takes decades to grow: OLD
34. Poetic "indeed": EEN
35. Watches every penny: SCRIMPS
39. It comes at the end of a sentence: FREEDOM
43. Not getting up until after 10?: KOED
44. Something that's long and steep?: LIMO
46. Pop singer Halliwell: GERI
47. "Baby ___ Want You" (1971 hit by Bread): IMA
48. Famed deli seen in Woody Allen's "Manhattan": ZABARS
50. Visiting the nation's capital, for short: INDC
51. *Anthem writer: MICKEY
53. Brought in: IMPORTED
55. It's usually in the 80s or 90s: OCTANE
56. Start of a kids' taunt: LIARLIAR
57. More substantial, as a paycheck: FATTER
58. "___ homo": ECCE
59. Traffic caution: SLO
60. Elevator stop: FLOOR
61. Florida pro team: RAYS
62. About 5 mL: TSP

down

1. Capital of Swaziland: MBABANE
2. Put a new tag on: RELABEL
3. Vague notion: INKLING
4. Start of a Beatles title: OBLA
5. Adorns: TRIMS
6. Unexpectedly met: RANINTO
7. "It's just getting out of ___ and getting into another" (John Lennon on death): ONECAR
8. Fatty acid, for one: LIPID
9. German cries: ACHS
10. Ever-changing: PROTEAN
11. *Word after North or South: POLEMIC
12. One may close a book: ENDNOTE
15. Rocky Mountain forager: MULEDEER
17. Something that may be found in a belt: ASTEROID
23. Way overcharge, say: ROB
27. 2014 psychological thriller based on a Gillian Flynn novel: GONEGIRL
29. Wood resistant to splitting: ELM
30. Turner of music: CDPLAYER
32. "___-haw!": YEE
35. Take from the top: SKIMOFF
36. *Shade of black: COMICAL
37. Give one's opinion on, say: REACTTO
38. Bro or sis: SIB
39. *Discussion venues: FORMICA
40. One with a job to fill?: DENTIST
41. Trials: ORDEALS
42. Dramatic ending to a performance ... or a hint to answering the six starred clues: MICDROP
45. Padded envelope: MAILER
48. ___ cards (tools used in ESP testing): ZENER
49. Airheaded: SPACY
52. The Green Hornet's masked driver: KATO
54. Metal containers: ORES

Hints and full breakdown for Mar 30

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.