NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for May 21, 2017
Sunday, May 21, 2017
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Sunday, May 21, 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
- 18
- 60
- 94
- 105
- 115
Down clues & answers
- 17
- 21
- 70
- 76
- 93
- 102
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Saturday, May 20, 2017
across
- 1. Part of a modern circuit: SILICONCHIP
- 12. Onetime MTV figures: VJS
- 15. Vegan sushi option: AVOCADOROLL
- 16. Extended stretch: EON
- 17. Regional coverage plan?: ZONEDEFENSE
- 18. Marble ___: RYE
- 19. Bit of work: ERG
- 20. Bit of work: TASK
- 21. Lit: AFIRE
- 23. Muckraker who pushed for "model tenements": RIIS
- 25. Things with periods in their names: SITES
- 27. Actor Ansari: AZIZ
- 28. "Look before you leap" source: AESOP
- 30. Control+Y on a PC: REDO
- 31. Reading block?: CODE
- 32. Optometrist's favorite musical note?: CSHARP
- 34. Became clouded over: DARKENED
- 36. [Just like that!]: POOF
- 38. Hamilton settings: TENS
- 39. Real-life ice age beast seen on "Game of Thrones": DIREWOLF
- 43. Like some light smokes: LOWTAR
- 47. Played for a sap: USED
- 48. Place to pick up chicks: COOP
- 50. Brazil's fourth-largest state by population: BAHIA
- 51. The Philippines' ___ Archipelago: SULU
- 52. Egyptian sky god: HORUS
- 54. Smart: PERT
- 55. Some chess sacrifices: TRAPS
- 57. Let: RENT
- 58. Celebratory move popularized by Cam Newton: DAB
- 59. "Mr." who has stitches in his face: MET
- 60. Sloppy joe ingredient: TOMATOSAUCE
- 64. Work that shows love: ODE
- 65. "Meridian" and "The Temple of My Familiar" novelist: ALICEWALKER
- 66. Edamame discard: POD
- 67. Metric for gauging female representation in works of fiction: BECHDELTEST
down
- 1. New Orleans cocktail: SAZERAC
- 2. They can't stay quiet when tickled: IVORIES
- 3. Like a film that's 2 1/2 hours or so: LONGISH
- 4. Fish market supply: ICE
- 5. Player, perhaps: CAD
- 6. "None but the Lonely Heart" writer/director, 1944: ODETS
- 7. "That's cheating!": NOFAIR
- 8. Like a blue jay: CRESTED
- 9. Like bad drivers, often: HONKEDAT
- 10. French pronoun: ILS
- 11. "Listen!," e.g.: PLEA
- 12. Sprint competitor: VERIZON
- 13. Driving the wrong way?: JOYRIDE
- 14. Welcomed blessing?: SNEEZED
- 22. Snapchat feature that alters one's features: FACESWAP
- 24. Got into a lather: SOAPEDUP
- 26. Political cartoonist Edward: SOREL
- 29. Stem: PROW
- 33. Lab, for one: POOCH
- 35. Gearshift part: KNOB
- 37. Amplifier for stage actors: FLOORMIC
- 39. Bunny picker-upper?: DUSTMOP
- 40. "Heck yeah!": ISUREDO
- 41. Kin: RELATED
- 42. Individually: FOREACH
- 44. Western legend, familiarly: THEDUKE
- 45. Some shooting stars: AIRACES
- 46. Gullible rodent in a Scott Adams comic: RATBERT
- 49. Kicked: PUNTED
- 53. Ski town near Mount Mansfield: STOWE
- 56. Run through: STAB
- 61. Stadium cry: OLE
- 62. Spanish seasoning: SAL
- 63. ___-tab: ALT
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.