NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for September 28, 2017
Thursday, September 28, 2017
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Thursday, September 28, 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
- 1
- 40
- 60
Down clues & answers
- 52
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
across
- 1. Power figure?: WATT
- 5. Parts of airplane wings: FLAPS
- 10. "South Park" kid voiced by Trey Parker: STAN
- 14. Victims of the fictional Morlocks: ELOI
- 15. Fabric with diagonal ridges: SERGE
- 16. 1993 Branch Davidians/F.B.I. standoff site: WACO
- 17. Rob of "Parks and Recreation": LOWE
- 18. Damage beyond repair: TOTAL
- 19. What a prep course preps for: EXAM
- 20. Where caribou roam: TUNDRA
- 22. Big workers' grp.: AFLCIO
- 24. Hip-hop group with the triple-platinum album "Black Sunday": CYPRESSHILL
- 28. Area in a sultan's palace, once: HAREM
- 30. Goat's bleat: MAA
- 31. Artful deception: GUILE
- 34. Dwarf planet beyond Pluto: ERIS
- 35. Carried, as by the wind: BORNE
- 37. Nabokov novel: PNIN
- 38. Near-impossibility on a par-4 hole: ACE
- 39. One waving a red cape: MATADOR
- 41. Roadside bomb, briefly: IED
- 42. Confusing situation ... or what this puzzle contains literally?: THREERINGCIRCUS
- 45. Rock's Cream was one: TRIO
- 46. Change the décor of: REDO
- 47. Nelson Mandela's org.: ANC
- 49. Marriage: UNION
- 51. Lead-in to plop or plunk: KER
- 54. Evidence in paternity suits: DNA
- 55. Chicago mayor Rahm: EMANUEL
- 57. Mother in a pen: SOW
- 59. Landscaper's neatener: EDGER
- 61. Mormons, in brief: LDS
- 62. Very, in music: ASSAI
- 64. Petty swindle: GRIFT
- 65. Risk a perjury rap: LIE
- 66. Insignificant sort: TWERP
- 67. Pick up on: SENSE
- 68. Magic 8 Ball response: YES
- 69. "Siddhartha" author: HESSE
down
- 1. Evidence of a whipping: WELT
- 2. Surname of three Giants outfielders in 1963: ALOU
- 3. News spreader of long ago: TOWNCRIER
- 4. Colors, hippie-style: TIEDYES
- 5. Polaris, e.g., in astronomy: FSTAR
- 6. Durocher in the Baseball Hall of Fame: LEO
- 7. Dealmaking, some say: ART
- 8. ___ Tour: PGA
- 9. Interjection occurring frequently in Psalms: SELAH
- 10. Become bloated: SWELLUP
- 11. Accountants' service for low-income individuals: TAXCLINIC
- 12. Smoothie berry: ACAI
- 13. Hideo ___, 1995 N.L. Rookie of the Year: NOMO
- 21. Tachometer abbr.: RPM
- 23. Garden of Eden tree: FIG
- 25. With more heart than head: EMOTIONALLY
- 26. Kitchen wrap brand: SARAN
- 27. Birds found in semideserts: SANDGROUSES
- 28. ___-seeking missile: HEAT
- 29. Keystone's place: ARCH
- 32. "In ___ of flowers ...": LIEU
- 33. Two slices of a loaf: ENDS
- 35. The "Ba" of BaSO4: BARIUM
- 36. Epoch characterized by the rise of mammals: EOCENE
- 39. La Baltique, par exemple: MER
- 40. Free (of): RID
- 43. Yadda, yadda, yadda: ETC
- 44. Soldier from Seoul: ROK
- 47. Traitorous Major ___ of the Revolutionary War: ANDRE
- 48. Ray ___, mayor of New Orleans during Katrina: NAGIN
- 50. Many a low-budget film: INDIE
- 52. Pothook shapes: ESSES
- 53. Leonine sounds: ROARS
- 54. M.B.A. and Ph.D., for two: DEGS
- 55. "Symphony in Black" artist: ERTE
- 56. Backing for plaster: LATH
- 58. Moist towelette: WIPE
- 60. They're worth 0 toward G.P.A.s: EFS
- 63. Abba's home: Abbr.: SWE
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.