NYT Crossword · The New York Times

The Crossword Clues, Hints & Answers for December 6, 2017

Q: Can I see past crossword answers?

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

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

By WordFinderZ Puzzle TeamLast updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:07 PM ETHow we make hints

This archive page covers the The Crossword from Wednesday, December 6, 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.

78 clues · jump to Across or Down. Tap a tile for one letter, or Answer for the whole word.

Across clues & answers

Down clues & answers

Know someone stuck on this one? The link opens on the hints, not the answer.

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Previous The Crossword answer

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

across

1. Kindergarten learning: ABCS
5. Place with hot rocks: SAUNA
10. Golf shot near a green: CHIP
14. Cemetery purchase: PLOT
15. Tells to "Do it!": URGES
16. Long-eared hopper: HARE
17. Anchor man?: POPEYETHESAILOR
20. Sacred Egyptian bug: SCARAB
21. Southern drawl, e.g.: ACCENT
22. Snack you might bite or lick: OREO
24. "Lovely ___" (Beatles song): RITA
25. Sound technician?: MARINEBIOLOGIST
32. They come with buds: IPODS
33. Space ball: ORB
34. Star-crossed lover of literature: ROMEO
35. Secretive org.: CIA
36. Bare minimum: LEAST
38. Tennis barrier: NET
39. What dropping off a last child at college is, to many parents: SADDAY
42. Star of "An Inconvenient Truth": ALGORE
45. Giant in health plans: CIGNA
47. Cancel, as a rocket launch: ABORT
48. Beat reporter?: ALLENGINSBERG
51. One not reporting for duty, maybe: AWOL
52. 2017, por ejemplo: ANO
53. Cartoon "Ouch!": YEOW
55. Suffers from: HAS
56. Quaint gestures of gratitude: HATTIPS
60. Noshed: ATE
61. "Right you ___!": ARE
62. Sister brand of Baby Ruth: OHHENRY
63. It stains: DYE
64. Resting place: BED
65. Executive producer?: WHARTON
66. Blab: YAK

down

1. Smartphone downloads: APPS
2. Congress's Freedom Caucus, e.g.: BLOC
3. Nightclub in a Manilow song: COPA
4. Olympics no-no: STEROID
5. Honey brand since 1921: SUEBEE
6. "The creation of beauty," per Ralph Waldo Emerson: ART
7. "Yuck!": UGH
8. Maiden name intro: NEE
9. Batter, e.g.: ASSAIL
10. City said to have big shoulders: CHICAGO
11. In great shape: HALE
12. Resource in the Mesabi Range: IRON
13. Cheeky: PERT
18. Hard-to-believe stories: YARNS
19. One in a cast: ACTOR
23. Instrument with cane blades: OBOE
24. Steals: ROBS
25. Hot ones can cause trouble: MICS
26. Capital of Samoa: APIA
27. Sign akin to "Bridge Out": ROADCLOSED
28. One of the Gershwins: IRA
29. "Hold on, give me a second": IMNOTREADY
30. Future predictor: SEER
31. Many a pledge drive gift: TOTE
36. Loretta who was the subject of "Coal Miner's Daughter": LYNN
37. Word document settings: TABS
40. ___ pickle: DILL
41. 5 or 6, for a kindergartner, typically: AGE
43. High toss: LOB
44. ___ Goose (vodka brand): GREY
46. Dame of mystery: AGATHA
47. Consecrate: ANOINT
48. Cognizant: AWARE
49. Bury: INTER
50. Successful prankster's cry: GOTYA
51. Melville monomaniac: AHAB
54. Span for The New Yorker: WEEK
56. Know-___: HOW
57. Appropriate rhyme for "spa": AHH
58. For: PRO
59. Roget's entry: Abbr.: SYN

Hints and full breakdown for Dec 5

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.