NYT Crossword · The New York Times
The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 1, 2017
Friday, December 1, 2017
By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated How we make hints
This archive page covers the The Crossword from Friday, December 1, 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
- 16
- 30
- 41
- 46
- 53
Down clues & answers
- 21
- 25
- 28
- 37
- 38
- 43
- 45
- 51
- 56
Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.
Previous The Crossword answer
Thursday, November 30, 2017
across
- 1. Venomous African snake: MAMBA
- 6. Quandaries: JAMS
- 10. Duchess of ___ (Goya subject): ALBA
- 14. "Ghosts" playwright: IBSEN
- 15. Cartoon dog: ODIE
- 16. Trollish sort: BOOR
- 17. 1984 Schwarzenegger sequel: CONANTHEXX
- 19. Go fast: ZOOM
- 20. Reeves of "The Matrix": KEANU
- 21. Kind of bar: SUSHI
- 22. ___ Ranch (onetime "Texas White House"): LBJ
- 25. Early form of airmail?: XXXXXPIGEON
- 28. "Yay, me!": IRULE
- 30. It's measured in cups: BRA
- 31. Minor but essential part: COG
- 32. "In this way": LIKESO
- 34. Round floor cleaner: ROOMBA
- 36. Many a bar mitzvah attendee: TEEN
- 37. Chrysler model discontinued in 2010: PTXXX
- 39. Mother of the Virgin Mary: ANNE
- 42. Butters up?: BASTES
- 44. Opened one's mouth but didn't speak?: YAWNED
- 46. Fair-hiring inits.: EEO
- 48. Campaign freebie: PIN
- 49. Scary figure in Stephen King's "It": CLOWN
- 50. Grinder: XXXSANDWICH
- 55. Org. whose symbol is an eagle atop a key: NSA
- 56. Run-of-the-mill: HOHUM
- 57. Language from which "kayak" comes: INUIT
- 59. Pac-12 team: UTES
- 60. It's four units long in a popular board game (with the game's other pieces hinted at by the circled letters): BATTLESHIP
- 65. Red giant in the constellation Cetus: MIRA
- 66. A penny is a small one: ANTE
- 67. Express: VOICE
- 68. Future C.P.A.'s study: ECON
- 69. "Gotta go," in textspeak: TTYL
- 70. Fragrant compound: ESTER
down
- 1. Word after hot or open: MIC
- 2. Blood letters: ABO
- 3. ___ Explorer (browser): MSN
- 4. Schnozz: BEAK
- 5. Wings: ANNEXES
- 6. Pope before Leo VI: JOHNX
- 7. For two: ADEUX
- 8. Potpourri: MIX
- 9. Congress: SEX
- 10. Bella of 1970s politics: ABZUG
- 11. Unpredictable sort: LOOSECANNON
- 12. "Oh, cry me a river!": BOOHOO
- 13. Giving heat?: ARMING
- 18. Duty: TAX
- 21. Neighbor of India and China in Risk: SIAM
- 22. Cheerful tune: LILT
- 23. Cocktail party spread: BRIE
- 24. Foreigner song with the lyric "With that one guitar / He'll come alive": JUKEBOXHERO
- 26. Gaming debut of 2001: XBOX
- 27. Agent: PROXY
- 29. Actress Headey: LENA
- 33. Join voluntarily: OPTIN
- 34. Just what the doctor ordered, for short?: RXS
- 35. Turn on the waterworks: BAWL
- 38. Watch over: TEND
- 40. Google heading: NEWS
- 41. Novelist Ferber: EDNA
- 43. Filter target: SPAM
- 45. Pull off: ACHIEVE
- 46. Unearth: EXHUME
- 47. Pet store category: EXOTIC
- 51. Lazy ___: SUSAN
- 52. Good at repartee: WITTY
- 53. Big name in microprocessors: INTEL
- 54. ___-de-sac: CUL
- 58. Chinese menu possessive: TSOS
- 60. Take some swings: BAT
- 61. Army ___: ANT
- 62. Success in the game 60-Across ... or a hint to interpreting the circled squares: HIT
- 63. Winter coat: ICE
- 64. Each: PER
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.